Arbor Memorial Inc. is a privately held Canadian company that operates funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoria and related memorial services across Canada. The largest provider of funeral and cemetery services in Canada, Arbor was founded in 1947. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
The company operates a nationwide network of funeral homes, cemeteries and cremation facilities in multiple Canadian provinces.
History Arbor Memorial was founded in 1947 by Daniel Scanlan with the establishment of Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in London, Ontario.
Over several decades the company expanded by developing park cemeteries in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s across Canada before expanding into funeral homes in the 1980s. Before becoming Arbor Memorial, the company was known as Canadian Memorial Services Limited (not to be confused with the current funeral home subsidiary of the Mount Pleasant Group).
In September 2012, Arbor Memorial announced an agreement to be acquired by an investor group led by Scanfield Holdings Ltd., Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited and JC Clark Ltd. in a deal valued at approximately $375 million.
Shareholders approved the transaction later that year.
The acquisition was completed in November 2012, after which the company was taken private and its shares were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In 2017, an investigative report by CBC Television's Marketplace and the Toronto Star uncovered a pattern of aggressive sales practices, significant price markups and upselling by Arbor sales representatives. The investigation resulted in rule changes by Ontario's funeral regulator, which the company was accused of violating in 2018, when they were again accused of misleading sales tactics.
Operations Arbor Memorial operates funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoria and reception centres across Canada. The company provides burial and cremation services, funeral planning, cemetery interment rights and memorialization products. Arbor operates roughly 92 funeral homes, 41 cemeteries, and 27 crematoria in more than 140 total locations across eight Canadian provinces.
Properties The following table lists properties operated by Arbor Memorial across Canada.
Property City Province Year opened / established Funeral home Cemetery Notes Ontario Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens London Ontario 1947 No Yes First Arbor cemetery Glendale Funeral Home & Cemetery Toronto Ontario 1952 Yes Yes Cemetery complex Highland Memory Gardens Toronto Ontario 1953 No Yes Memorial park cemetery Resthaven Memorial Gardens Toronto Ontario 1925 No Yes Historic cemetery Pine Ridge Memorial Gardens Ajax Ontario No Yes Durham Region cemetery Mount Lawn Funeral Home & Cemetery Whitby Ontario Yes Yes Durham Region site Glenview Memorial Gardens Vaughan Ontario No Yes Cemetery Brampton Funeral Home & Cemetery Brampton Ontario 1950s Yes Yes Cemetery complex Glen Oaks Funeral Home & Cemetery Oakville Ontario Yes Yes Cemetery complex Highland Hills Funeral Home & Cemetery Markham Ontario 1999 Yes Yes Cemetery complex Kelly Funeral Home – Somerset Chapel Ottawa Ontario Yes No Ottawa funeral home Kelly Funeral Home – Walkley Chapel Ottawa Ontario Yes No Ottawa funeral home Kelly Funeral Home – Barrhaven Chapel Ottawa Ontario Yes No Ottawa funeral home Capital Funeral Home & Cemetery Ottawa Ontario Yes Yes Cemetery complex McKenzie & Blundy Funeral Home & Cremation Centre Sarnia Ontario 1885 Yes No Historic funeral home Harbourview Funeral Centre Thunder Bay Ontario Yes No Funeral home Memory Gardens Funeral Home & Cemetery Breslau Ontario Yes Yes Kitchener area Victoria Lawn Cemetery St. Catharines Ontario 1856 No Yes Historic cemetery Manitoba Chapel Lawn Funeral Home & Cemetery Winnipeg Manitoba Yes Yes Cemetery complex Glenlawn Funeral Home & Cemetery Winnipeg Manitoba Yes Yes Cemetery complex Glen Eden Funeral Home & Cemetery Winnipeg Manitoba Yes Yes Cemetery complex Alberta Mountain View Funeral Home & Cemetery Calgary Alberta Yes Yes Cemetery complex Eden Brook Funeral Home & Cemetery Calgary Alberta Yes Yes Cemetery complex Evergreen Funeral Home & Cemetery Edmonton Alberta Yes Yes Cemetery complex Westlawn Funeral Home & Cemetery Edmonton Alberta Yes Yes Cemetery complex Glenwood Funeral Home & Cemetery Sherwood Park Alberta Yes Yes Cemetery complex Saskatchewan Regina Funeral Home & Cemetery Regina Saskatchewan Yes Yes Cemetery complex British Columbia Valley View Funeral Home & Cemetery Surrey British Columbia Yes Yes Cemetery complex First Memorial Funeral Services Vancouver British Columbia Yes No Funeral services First Memorial Funeral Services – Riverview Chapel Vancouver British Columbia Yes No Funeral home First Memorial Funeral Services – Burkeview Chapel Port Coquitlam British Columbia Yes No Funeral home Sands Funeral Chapel Victoria British Columbia Yes No Funeral home Sands Funeral Chapel Duncan British Columbia Yes No Funeral home Sands Funeral Chapel Nanaimo British Columbia Yes No Funeral home Royal Oak Burial Park Victoria British Columbia No Yes Cemetery New Brunswick Fair Haven Funeral Home & Cemetery Moncton New Brunswick Yes Yes Cemetery complex Fair Haven Memorial Gardens Moncton New Brunswick No Yes Cemetery See also Mount Pleasant Group, a Toronto-area group of non-profit cemeteries and funeral homes Park Lawn Corporation, another Canadian death care company Fairfax Financial
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