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There’s a moment when walking through Halifax’s Old Burying Ground that stays with you.

You’re surrounded by tilted stones, centuries old, each carved with care and sorrow.

You stop at the grave of Maj.-Gen. Robert Ross, a man who led British troops to Washington and famously ordered the burning of the White House during the War of 1812. After being killed in battle later that year, his body was preserved in a barrel of Jamaican rum and shipped on HMS Royal Oak to Halifax for burial.

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More than 200 years later, his grave is still visited by historians, tourists and curious passersby who recognize that the stories of our nation rest in our soil.

In Nova Scotia, cemeteries are not only resting places but archives of who we are. From Loyalist families in Annapolis Royal to coal miners in Glace Bay, from Black Loyalist communities to Acadian settlements and Mi’kmaq ancestors, Nova Scotia graveyards tell layered, complicated and essential stories.

They are places of mourning, yes. But they are also spaces of connection, culture and community.

Across the country, Canadians are beginning to rediscover these truths. According to new national research from Guaranteed Funeral Deposits, attitudes about death and dying are shifting significantly. Traditional burials are becoming less common, with more than half of Canadians now preferring cremation and only a quarter laying to rest those ashes in a cemetery.

But people are still searching for meaning. They want experiences that reflect the lives they lived and that resonate with their communities and identities.

The data shows a clear trend: 68 per cent of Canadians view cemeteries as important historical sites.

Younger Canadians, in particular, are increasingly interested in personalized ceremonies and are open to integrating storytelling, history and nature into how we honour the dead. The majority support the idea of cemeteries as places for more than mourning, as venues for history tours, cultural events and community reflection.

In Nova Scotia, cemeteries already serve as local landmarks and historic attractions. Walking tours through Trinity Anglican Cemetery in Digby or the Garrison Graveyard in Annapolis Royal are as much about the province’s past as they are about the people buried there. The tour guides are often historians, community members and caretakers of memory. At many sites, descendants still visit, laying flowers or simply sitting quietly beneath trees that have shaded generations.

But these spaces require care. Like libraries or parks, cemeteries serve a public good and caretaking staff work hard to maintain them as vital pieces of civic infrastructure.

Yet too many cemeteries in Canada face the threat of neglect: overgrown paths, crumbling stones, stories in danger of being lost.

At the same time, families are struggling with the cost of modern funeral arrangements. GFD’s research found that nearly half of Canadians say the cost of a funeral would be a significant financial burden. That burden is heavier in rural communities, where incomes may be lower and options more limited.

We can address both problems at once, but it will require attention and investment. Grants and partnerships can help restore aging headstones. Tourism strategies can include cemetery tours and heritage events. And governments can take steps to make end-of-life services more affordable by exempting funerals from GST/HST and increasing the $2,500 Canada Pension Plan death benefit.

GFD’s consumer report also shows that Canadians overwhelmingly trust their local funeral professionals, describing them as compassionate, supportive and trustworthy. This trust, coupled with a desire for more meaningful and affordable arrangements, creates opportunity for innovative programming. Cemeteries can become spaces for dialogue, remembrance, and learning.

The best cemeteries are not frozen in time. They are living spaces. They breathe with the seasons. They open their gates to schoolchildren, tourists, grieving spouses and amateur historians. They let us mourn, and they let us remember.

They preserve the personal stories – the lives of teachers, farmers, soldiers, local heroes, community volunteers and families – alongside the big moments that shaped our nation. Together, these stories form the foundation of Canada.

So, if you find yourself in downtown Halifax this summer, follow the walking tour through the Old Burying Ground. Pause at the grave of Robert Ross. Reflect on the extraordinary journey that brought him to his final resting place in Nova Scotia.

Think about the Canada we live in today, especially as it relates to our relationship with the United States, and the importance of that moment in history to our national story.

And know that in remembering him and all those who rest beneath our feet, you are helping keep our nation’s story alive.

Heather Kiteley is the CEO of Guaranteed Funeral Deposits.

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