Canada · water cremation
Pet aquamation in Canada
Aquamation is a water-based alternative to flame cremation, sometimes called alkaline hydrolysis or water cremation. This is what it is, how it differs, what comes back to you and how to compare it, without the marketing.
In the Final Tail directory
Listing it is not the same as it being available on your timeline, so confirm availability, whether it is private or communal, and collection directly with a provider.
In plain language
The short version
The questions families ask first, answered before the detail below.
What is aquamation?
Aquamation is a water-based alternative to flame cremation. Warm water, an alkali and gentle movement break the body down to bone, which is then dried and processed into ashes. You may also see it called alkaline hydrolysis or water cremation.
What do you receive?
When the aquamation is private, you receive your pet's ashes to keep, scatter or turn into a keepsake, the same as with a private flame cremation. When it is communal, ashes are usually not returned.
Is it available near me?
Aquamation needs specific equipment, so it is offered by some Canadian providers and not others. Use the directory to see which providers list it, and confirm with them directly before you plan on it.
Is it the greener choice?
Some families choose it as a lower-energy, flame-free option. The full environmental picture depends on the specific process and how the liquid is handled, so it is not automatically greener in every respect. There is a sourced section on this below.
How aquamation works
The broad sequence of care
Gentle and step by step. What comes back is bone that is processed into ashes, the same as with flame cremation, so the difference is mainly in how you get there.
Arrival and identification
Your pet is brought into the provider's care, usually with an identification system that stays with them throughout. Ask each provider how they keep track of your pet from start to finish.
The water-based process
Your pet is placed in a vessel of warm water and an alkali. Over several hours, water and alkali gently break the body down to bone, in place of the heat and flame a cremation uses.
Drying and processing to ashes
The bone that remains is dried and processed into a fine, pale ash, much as it is after a flame cremation. What comes back is bone mineral, not soft tissue.
Return to you
If the aquamation was private, your pet's ashes are returned to you, often with a simple container and a certificate. If it was communal, there are usually no ashes to return.
Aquamation compared with flame cremation
What drives the process
Aquamation
Warm water and an alkali
Flame cremation
Heat and flame
What comes back
Aquamation
Ashes (processed bone) when private
Flame cremation
Ashes (processed bone) when private
Ashes returned
Aquamation
Yes when private; not usually when communal
Flame cremation
Yes when private; not usually when communal
Energy use
Aquamation
Lower, by published estimates
Flame cremation
Higher
Air emissions
Aquamation
None to air; a liquid is treated and drained
Flame cremation
Combustion gases through a filtered stack
Typical timing
Aquamation
Can take longer per pet, and depends on the provider
Flame cremation
Varies by provider and demand
Availability in Canada
Aquamation
Some providers, where the equipment exists
Flame cremation
Widely available
Weighing this against burial as well? Compare cremation, aquamation and burial.
What comes back
Whether you receive ashes depends on the arrangement
As with flame cremation, a private aquamation returns your pet's ashes and a communal one usually does not.
Private aquamation
Your pet's ashes are returned to you
Keep them, scatter them where it is allowed, or turn them into a keepsake or piece of jewellery.
Communal aquamation
Ashes are usually not returned
The provider lays pets to rest together. Many families focus on a memorial, a keepsake or a small ceremony instead.
Availability and evidence
What we can and cannot tell you
Availability
21 providers in our directory list aquamation, across 7 provinces. That is a real, checkable signal, but it is not a promise the service is available near you or on your timeline. It is also not evidence that aquamation is available across Canada.
See providers that list aquamationPricing
Only 1 provider in our published-price sample lists a full aquamation price list, so there is not enough data for a Canada-wide range. Where it is offered, aquamation is usually priced much like private cremation.
See the one documented exampleA common question
Is aquamation the greener choice?
It is a common reason families ask about aquamation, so it is worth being straight about what the evidence does and does not say.
- By published estimates, the process uses far less energy than flame cremation, on the order of one-seventh to one-eighth, and releases no air emissions such as smoke, mercury or dioxins.
- It also produces a liquid that has to be neutralised or diluted and handled through the wastewater system, which is part of the picture too.
- So it is genuinely lower-impact in some respects, but it is not automatically greener in every respect, and the details depend on the specific process and how a provider runs it.
Environmental profiles vary by provider and equipment. If this matters to you, ask a provider how their process works rather than relying on a single label.
What moves the price
Cost factors to expect
We do not publish a national aquamation price, because the evidence does not support one. These are the things that move a quote up or down.
Private or communal
A private aquamation, where your pet's ashes are returned, costs more than a communal one. It is the single biggest driver, exactly as it is with flame cremation.
Your pet's size and weight
Most providers price by weight band. A cat or small dog costs far less than a large-breed dog, and some providers add a surcharge above a set weight.
Collection and transport
Dropping your pet off yourself is usually cheapest. Home or veterinary-clinic pickup is often a flat fee or priced by distance.
Urn and keepsakes
A simple container may be included, while a chosen urn, a paw print or a keepsake is added on top. Ask what the headline price already covers.
Before you book
Questions worth asking a provider
Ask the same short set of each provider, and their answers become comparable. Nothing is stored.
Common questions
Pet aquamation questions
The questions families ask most when they are weighing up aquamation.
What is the difference between aquamation and cremation?
Both reduce the body to bone that is processed into ashes, and both can be private (ashes returned) or communal (ashes not returned). Flame cremation uses heat and flame; aquamation uses warm water and an alkali instead. Aquamation uses less energy and produces no air emissions, but it needs specific equipment, so it is not offered everywhere.
Is aquamation the same as alkaline hydrolysis or water cremation?
Yes. Aquamation, alkaline hydrolysis, water cremation and bio-cremation all refer to the same water-based process. Regulators and providers do not always use the same word for it, so it is worth checking that a provider means the same thing you do.
Do I get my pet's ashes back after aquamation?
With a private aquamation, yes: you receive your pet's ashes to keep, scatter or turn into a keepsake, just as with a private flame cremation. With a communal aquamation, ashes are usually not returned. Confirm which arrangement a provider is offering before you book.
Is aquamation available across Canada?
Not everywhere. Aquamation needs specific equipment, so only some providers offer it. 21 providers in our directory list aquamation among their services, across several provinces, but availability, timing and whether it is private or communal all vary. Use the directory and confirm directly with a provider near you.
How much does aquamation cost in Canada?
There is not enough published pricing to give a Canada-wide figure: only one provider in our published-price sample lists a full aquamation price list. Where it is offered, aquamation is usually priced much like private cremation. Ask a provider near you for a current quote, and see the cost page for the one documented example.
Is aquamation better for the environment?
It is often chosen as a lower-energy, flame-free option. A Canadian public-health review describes alkaline hydrolysis as using far less energy than flame cremation, with no air emissions, while producing a liquid that must be neutralised and handled through the wastewater system. So the picture is genuinely lower-impact in some ways, but it is not simply positive, and it depends on the specific process. Ask a provider how their process works.
Sources
Where the process and environmental facts come from
Every factual claim here that is not a plain description of a provider's own service comes from a named authoritative source: a national veterinary association, a national public-health centre, an established humane society, or a Canadian aftercare provider for the aftercare process itself.
Final Tail is a directory and a guide, not a veterinary provider. Nothing here is veterinary, medical or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from your own veterinarian or your local authority.
National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health · National public-health centre
Alternative disposition services: Green burial, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting
This review is about human disposition. Final Tail borrows only the parts that describe the alkaline-hydrolysis process itself and how disposition rules are set, which are the same regardless of species; it does not borrow the human-only availability figures.
- Alkaline hydrolysis is also known as aquamation, resomation, water cremation or bio-cremation.
- The process uses a heated mixture of water and a strong alkali to break the body down, leaving bone that is processed and a liquid that is neutralised or diluted before it goes to sanitary drains.
- Its environmental advantages come mostly from avoiding the energy and materials of conventional methods: estimates put its energy use at roughly one-seventh to one-eighth that of flame cremation, with no air emissions such as smoke, mercury or dioxins.
- The environmental picture is not simply positive: recognised concerns include odour, potential water or soil pollution, and making sure the effluent is treated enough for wastewater systems.
- Rules for these disposition methods vary widely between provinces and territories, and among municipalities, so who can access a service and how it is delivered differs across the country.
Checked 2026-08-01
By province
Aquamation providers by province
Aquamation is a limited service. These provinces have at least one approved provider confirmed to offer it. Availability varies, so confirm the service and the area directly.
Keep planning
Where to go next
Pet aftercare options
Compare cremation, aquamation, burial and memorial-only choices side by side.
Read moreHow pet cremation works
The step-by-step journey, from the day your pet dies to the return of ashes.
Read morePet cremation costs
What providers publish, why prices vary and how to compare a quote.
Read morePet burial and cemeteries
Home burial and pet cemeteries, the permissions to check and how to weigh them up.
Read morePet memorials
Urns, keepsakes, jewellery, scattering and other ways to remember your pet.
Read morePet loss and grief support
Verified Canadian grief support, and the crisis lines to reach right now.
Read moreStart your search
Compare pet aftercare providers across Canada
Browse Canadian providers, ask whether aquamation is available, and confirm collection area and service availability directly.
Final Tail is an independent directory of pet cremation and aftercare providers across Canada. We collect provider details from public listings, provider websites and information shared with us. Services, availability and pricing may change, so please confirm directly with the provider before making arrangements.