Greater Victoria's Muslim burial option and the only cemetery on Vancouver Island for which any Muslim burial provision could be sourced. Operator: a not-for-profit, community-owned burial park - "Royal Oak Burial Park is the only not-for-profit, community-owned burial park and cremation memorial facility in the Victoria, BC region" (its own site) - so neither a municipality nor a commercial group. It serves all faiths and operates a crematorium, so all_muslim is false. Muslim provision: the park's executive director, Ilan Highton, is quoted in a Royal-Oak-sponsored feature in the Victoria Times Colonist saying that alongside "graves facing east-west, or north-south ... Those belonging to the Muslim or Baha'i faith are also provided with options that allow bodies to touch the soil, in accordance with those traditions." Separately, the BC Muslim Association's Victoria branch states on its own page: "In 2003, the Board of the BCMA Victoria branch delegated a special committee to establish a Muslim cemetery in Victoria. As a result of that initiative, the community now has a Muslim cemetery. Initially 38 burial plots were purchased. While some plots were purchased by individuals, others belong to the Association and are made available when required ... in June 2008 an additional 62 plots were purchased in a new adjoining development phase of the burial park and will be available for use by year-end." IMPORTANT GAP: the BCMA page never names the burial park, and Royal Oak's own website never mentions Muslim burial or a Muslim section - so muslim_section is left NULL. The link between the BCMA Victoria plots and Royal Oak is inference from the phrase "the burial park" plus the operator's own quoted statement about Muslim accommodation, and it has NOT been confirmed. Note also that BCMA's central funeral page lists only three Lower Mainland cemeteries (Ocean View, Victory Memorial Park, Vedder View Gardens) and does not list any Victoria ground. plots_available is true for the park generally ("Royal Oak Burial Park has recently expanded our burial areas"), not specifically for Muslim plots. Rank: HIGH priority for a human phone call - both to the park (250-658-5621) and to the BCMA Victoria branch, to establish whether a designated Muslim area exists, where it is, and whether BCMA plots remain.
At a glance
Arranging a burial here
- Contact the masjid handling the janazah first — most cemeteries deal with the funeral provider rather than the family directly.
- Ask what the plot costs and, separately, what opening and closing the grave costs. They are almost always billed apart, and the second surprises people.
- Ask whether the section faces qiblah and what markers are permitted.
- See what a Muslim burial costs across Canada before you commit — plot prices vary more than fourfold between cities.
What we haven’t confirmed
We could not establish: whether there is a designated Muslim section, size. Those are published as gaps rather than filled with a plausible guess. If you know the answer — especially if you are from this organisation — tell us and we will verify and update the listing.
Planning ahead, rather than in a crisis?
The two things a funeral coordinator asks a family for are the burial wishes and the will. Recording where your will is kept and working out the inheritance shares now spares your family both questions at the worst possible moment.
Where to go next
Sources for this listing
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position.
- Royal Oak Burial Park - official site — royaloakburialpark.ca
- Contact Us - Royal Oak Burial Park — royaloakburialpark.ca