Cemeteries frequently asked questions

If you have a question that isn't listed here, please contact us and one of our Customer Service Representatives would be pleased to assist you.

Sales & services

Contact our Customer Service Advisors by phone 204-986-4348, in-person at the Administration Office at 3001 Notre Dame Ave., or through our Contact us page.

Booking an interment

All clients are offered choices of interment options and locations. However, for safety reasons, the final decision remains at the discretion of City of Winnipeg Cemeteries. Our Customer Service Advisors can arrange an appointment for you to meet them at the cemetery location of your choice, where we can show you the available choices.

We accept cash, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Interac or cheques made payable to "The City of Winnipeg". Personal cheques require 10 working days for banking, prior to a service or product being available.

Cemeteries grounds hours

  • Brookside Cemetery
    Interments/inurnments may be booked for Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
  • St. Vital Cemetery
    Interments/inurnments may be booked for Monday- Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Transcona Cemetery
    Interments/inurnments may be booked Monday-Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

*Booking times are subject to availability at the time of booking, and are on a first come first serve basis. Any interment/inurnment where the grave or niche unit is not closed by Cemeteries staff by 3:45 p.m. will be subject a late funeral fee.

Weekend interment/inurnments are subject to staff availability and if approved, are subject to additional fees at the time of booking. Please contact us for more information, or to submit an interment/inurnment booking.

Cemetery grounds

The cemetery is generally open for visiting every day of the week. However, hours can vary depending on the season, weather and road conditions. Please visit the contact us page for current grounds hours. 

Flower arrangements and wreaths may be placed on an interment/burial site immediately following the funeral and are allowed to remain for up to 10 days after the interment. After this, all flowers must be left in an invertible memorial vase installed in the ground or as an integral part of the memorial. Memorabilia is not permitted to remain.

  • Vases made of glass or breakable material will be removed immediately and disposed of for health and safety reasons.

Wreaths on stands may be placed during the winter months (November 1 to April 30).

  • Other items of memorabilia such as photographs are not permitted to be left on the cemetery grounds.

Fresh cut or silk flowers may be left in a metal or invertible vase placed in the ground at the head of the interment site adjacent to the beam. Remember to remove or invert your vase during the winter months to avoid any risk of damage. Wreaths may be left for approximately 10 days after an interment and during the winter months from November 1 until April 30. Small paper flags may be inserted in the ground in the vase area during Remembrance Week in November of each year.

Nothing can be attached to the military monuments to ensure the Field of Honour remains a dignified place that shows equal respect to all those interred.

Annual flowers may be planted only in areas where they are allowed in the cemetery. For complete information on flower planting, please contact us or refer to the Cemetery Rules and Regulations.

Water is generally available after the May long weekend until sometime in the fall (weather dependent). Please note that water is provided at Brookside Cemetery from three large water tanks.

View a map of the water tank locations.

Please contact us. Note that the water taps at Brookside Cemetery are not operational. Water is currently provided at Brookside Cemetery from three large water tanks.

View a map of the water tank locations.

Yes, but owners must ensure that any pet remains on a leash and that all waste is removed from the cemetery grounds.

Brass, steel, cultured marble, marble, polypropylene, granite, wood, cardboard, and other biodegradable materials are permitted. Glass, ceramic, and pottery urns are not accepted (i.e. no breakable items). Wooden urns are not recommended for use in outdoor columbaria. If you are unsure if your urn or vessel would be a permitted material, please contact us for clarification.

Roadways are cleared daily. However, during blizzard conditions or after a heavy snowfall, it may be necessary to close some cemetery roadways until they can be cleared. Please contact us before visiting the grounds during the winter months to determine road conditions.

We do not clear the snow from within sections or walkways unless there is an interment taking place.

Locate a grave

Locate a grave using our burial search. The information available on the website includes the date of death and date of interment (burial), as well as the location within the specific cemetery (section and lot/plot numbers). You may also contact us for assistance.

If you have obtained the section and lot/plot number of the deceased person, you can use our grounds maps (Brookside Cemetery map, St. Vital Cemetery map, Transcona Cemetery map) to help you locate a burial site. For more detailed maps and clarification on the location feel free to visit the Administration Office at Brookside Cemetery during office hours.

In all three cemeteries, sections are identified by freestanding signs.

In Brookside and Transcona cemeteries, the newer sections with a continuous strip foundation have the lot number on a metal plate, located on the foundation at the head of the lot (grave).

In the older sections of Brookside, Transcona and St. Vital cemeteries, the lot number is stamped in a circular concrete cone (three inches in diameter) at the foot of the lot, inserted at ground level. Sometimes the lot number can be hidden just below the surface. Please contact us for assistance if needed.

Tracing your family tree is referred to as genealogy. The available search information may include: where born, where died, date of death, date of interment and name of funeral home. The date of birth is only available for those interred since 2005.

A fee must be paid before a genealogy search can be completed for you. Please contact us for prices and more information.

Contact

We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions.

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