Bronze Plaques Alberta

Alberta leaves the design of a grave marker to the cemetery that owns the ground. The Cemeteries Act sets no size, no material and no thickness; it regulates who may sell cemetery supplies, how perpetual care money is set aside and what a contract must disclose. The rules that decide whether your cast bronze plaque can go on a plot in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer or Lethbridge are each city’s own cemetery rules, and each publishes something different. This page gathers what those documents say, with every fee tied to its year, so that you can design a plaque in our free online tool that passes the cemetery’s approval the first time. We cast the bronze and ship it anywhere in Alberta; the granite base most Alberta cemeteries require is arranged locally, through the cemetery office or a monument dealer.

What the Alberta Cemeteries Act does and does not control

The Cemeteries Act, RSA 2000, c C-3, defines “cemetery supplies” to include grave markers, monuments and bases. It sets no dimension or material for any marker, and no Alberta regulation does either, so the controlling text is always the cemetery’s own rulebook.

Its money rules matter in one way. Under the Commercial Cemeteries Regulation a commercial owner must set aside at least 15 per cent of all money received from the sale, lease or rental of each lot, and at least 10 per cent of all money received from the sale of each monument or marker, for perpetual care. That 10 per cent applies only to markers the commercial cemetery sells itself; a bronze plaque bought from an outside supplier carries no provincial levy, only the cemetery’s own fees. Section 32(1) exempts cemeteries owned and operated by a religious denomination, religious auxiliary or municipality from licensing and perpetual care altogether, so the City cemeteries of Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge and every Catholic cemetery answer only to their own rules.

Monument dealers and the Consumer Protection Act

Alberta regulates monument dealers under its Consumer Protection Act rather than the Cemeteries Act. Section 70(6) of the Cemeteries Act exempts anyone licensed under the Consumer Protection Act to sell grave stones, grave markers, monuments or bases from the restrictions on soliciting cemetery supply sales, except for pre-need contracts. Section 71(1)(d) makes it an unfair practice “to represent that the cemetery services or cemetery supplies, or both, provided for in the contract are required by law or under the bylaws of a cemetery” when that is not the case. So a cemetery or dealer may not tell you its own marker is the only one permitted unless the by-law says so. None of the four city rulebooks we read reserves flat marker supply to the city, though all reserve niche, crypt or memorial wall bronze to themselves.

Calgary and Edmonton in summary

City	Governing document	Bronze accepted as	Key limits	Fees
Calgary	City of Calgary Cemeteries General Rules and Guidelines (revised 2021)	An approved marker material on a base at least 4 inches (10 cm) thick	Flat marker envelope 42 x 18 x 4 inches (106 x 46 x 10 cm) on a full lot, 24 x 18 x 4 inches (61 x 46 x 10 cm) on a cremation lot; no installation September 30 to May 1	$225.00 permission fee and $450.00 flat marker installation on the City price list as fetched October 2026, which prints no year
Edmonton	Municipal Cemeteries Regulations and General Information	Flat bronze with gussets, or bronze on a granite base with a 2 inch (5 cm) margin	Flat bronze up to 36 x 18 inches on a full plot; bronze on granite up to 38 x 20 inches on a 42 x 24 inch base; 4 inch minimum thickness effective September 1, 2025; installation April to October	Not published; quoted by the City’s Client Services team

Alberta cities

Calgary and Edmonton each have a full page with size tables, permit steps and fees.

Red Deer. The City operates Alto Reste Cemetery and Red Deer Cemetery and publishes fees effective September 1, 2026: flat marker installation $205 for a marker of 47 x 24 inches and $325 for markers from 48 to 95 inches by 30 inches, and removal $250. The two tiers suggest a standard single of about 47 x 24 inches and a maximum of 95 x 30, but the cemetery bylaw is not online, so confirm the permitted bronze size and base with Cemetery Services before you design.

Lethbridge. Mountain View, Archmount, St. Patrick’s and Royal View Memorial are City cemeteries under Cemetery Bylaw 5902. The 2026 Monument Permit Application states that the permit fee effective January 1, 2026 is $115.00, requires a permit before any monument is erected or inscribed, and has a tick box for “Install Bronze Plaque” with bronze, granite and marble as materials, so bronze is plainly contemplated. The Monument Regulations on size, type and material are not published online; ask the Mountain View office for the limits on your section. On the Memorial Wall the only option is a 2 x 10 inch bronze plaque sold by the City at $310.00 (2026 page).

Private and Catholic cemeteries in Alberta

The Catholic cemeteries of Calgary and Edmonton, including Holy Cross and St. Joachim, and the private memorial gardens in both cities, among them Eden Brook, Mountain View Memorial Gardens and Rocky View Garden of Peace near Calgary and Westlawn, Evergreen and Glenwood in Edmonton, publish no marker regulations or fee schedules online. We will not guess at their rules. Ask the office in writing whether a family supplied bronze plaque is permitted on your section, the maximum bronze size and the base size and thickness, who sets it, the fees with the year of the price list, and the delivery window.

The bronze we cast and the base you arrange in Alberta

Every Alberta cemetery we have read treats the marker as a complete unit, bronze plus base, and measures its outer envelope. We make the bronze part: a plaque cast in solid LG2 statuary bronze with raised polished lettering on a textured background, from 2 3/8 inches tall up to 22 1/16 by 15 3/4 inches (560 by 400 mm), as a rectangle, oval, circle or square, with lugs and studs that set into drilled holes in the granite. We do not pour concrete, supply granite or install. The base is ordered through the cemetery office or a monument dealer in your city, who also fixes the bronze to it where the rules require that before delivery.

A 20 by 10 inch plaque on a 24 by 14 inch base suits a Calgary cremation lot, Edmonton’s child and cremation plots and Red Deer’s smaller tier, and is $1,759.60 in the designer, shipping included. A 22 by 12 inch plaque on a 28 by 16 inch base fits Edmonton’s bronze on granite single plot and Calgary’s full lot, and is $2,118.74. A 12 by 8 inch plaque is $996.08 and suits a garden boulder or an added name on an existing granite marker. See bronze grave markers, garden plaques and custom bronze plaques.

Veterans in Alberta cemeteries

Veterans Affairs Canada’s Funeral and Burial Program, delivered through the Last Post Fund, provides an eligible Veteran with a grey granite military style marker, upright or flat, and “in certain cases, flat bronze”. Calgary’s Field of Honour marker is 20 x 12 x 4 inches (51 x 30 x 10 cm) in Stanstead Grey, and Edmonton’s Fields of Honour take uprights only. A family that wants its own cast bronze plaque on a Veteran’s grave in a civilian section should ask the cemetery and the Last Post Fund first; neither publishes an upgrade route or a refund for a family bought marker and we cannot promise one.

What the plaque itself costs, delivered to Alberta

The table below is our price for the cast bronze plaque itself, read from the design tool on this website on 14 October 2026 for a standard rectangle with the default border and background. Every figure is in Canadian dollars and includes delivery to any address in Alberta.

Size, inches (mm)	Typical use	Our price, delivery included
6 x 4 in (152 x 102 mm)	Name and dates on a small cremation plot, urn or pet memorial	$478.72
8 x 6 in (203 x 152 mm)	Cremation garden plaque or a short dedication on a bench or wall	$674.98
10 x 8 in (254 x 203 mm)	Cremation lot marker with a line of wording or an emblem	$889.05
12 x 8 in (305 x 203 mm)	Single lawn marker with name, dates and a line of wording	$996.08
16 x 12 in (406 x 305 mm)	Single grave marker with an emblem, or a companion cremation marker	$1,580.02
18 x 12 in (457 x 305 mm)	Larger single marker or a dedication plaque with several lines	$1,759.60
20 x 10 in (508 x 254 mm)	The 20 by 10 inch flat marker size many municipal cemeteries list	$1,759.60
22 x 12 in (559 x 305 mm)	Companion marker or wide single marker inside a 24 inch envelope	$2,118.74
22 1/16 x 15 3/4 in (560 x 400 mm)	The largest size the designer makes, for double markers and dedication tablets	$2,456.76

Any cemetery charge quoted higher on this page, such as a setting fee, a permit, a foundation or a care and maintenance contribution, is paid to the cemetery and is separate from our price. Add the two together for the full installed cost. Open the design tool, type in the size your cemetery allows, and the exact price for that size appears before you order.

How to order

1. Ask the cemetery office for its marker specification: the maximum size, the base it requires and the form it needs signed. Most offices email it the same day.
2. Open the free design tool, pick the shape and set the size in inches or centimetres. The price in Canadian dollars updates as you go.
3. Add the wording, choose a border and background, and add an emblem, motif or photo if you want one. Choose lugs with studs if the plaque will be bolted to a granite or concrete base, or a flat back for adhesive mounting.
4. Save the design and order it from My Account. We send a written proof that you can forward to the cemetery for approval, and nothing is cast until you approve it.

Frequently asked questions

Does Alberta law set a size for bronze grave markers?

No. The Cemeteries Act controls licensing, contracts and perpetual care funds, not marker dimensions. Each cemetery’s own rules set the size, base and thickness, so ask the office for its specification before designing.

Is there a provincial levy on a bronze plaque I buy myself?

No. The 10 per cent perpetual care set-aside applies only to markers sold by a commercial cemetery owner. Municipal and religious cemeteries are exempt, and an outside plaque carries only the cemetery’s own permit and installation fees.

Can a cemetery insist I buy the marker from them?

Only where its by-law says so, as with niche and crypt fronts in Calgary and Edmonton. Section 71(1)(d) of the Cemeteries Act makes it an unfair practice to claim a supply is required by a cemetery’s by-laws when it is not.

Do you supply the granite base as well as the bronze?

No. We cast and ship the bronze plaque with lugs and studs. The base, and the fixing of the bronze to it, are arranged through the cemetery office or a monument dealer in your city, who also sets the finished unit.

What are the current fees in Red Deer and Lethbridge?

Red Deer charges $205 to install a flat marker of 47 by 24 inches and $325 for larger markers up to 95 by 30 inches, effective September 1, 2026. Lethbridge charges a monument permit fee of $115.00 effective January 1, 2026. Neither publishes its marker size rules online.

How long does a bronze plaque take in Alberta?

Allow about four to six weeks from payment to delivery. Casting and hand finishing take most of that time, and we send a free written proof before anything is cast. If your cemetery only sets markers in the frost free season, order early enough for the spring installation window.