Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto

Cool Place to Visit in Canada's Largest City

Mar 13, 2009 Tina Costanza

Spending time in a cemetery may seem somewhat creepy to some, but five minutes in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto can change that perception.

More than a final resting place, Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a serene oasis in the heart of Canada’s largest city, Toronto. Visitors who look past the graves — which are well kept — will notice a park-like setting.

This park-like setting was once a 200-acre farm. In 1873, a new cemetery available to all citizens, no matter what their denomination, was created. Its gates opened on Nov. 4, 1876.

Today, a paved path winds its way through the lawns, trees, bushes and flowers that punctuate the land east of Yonge Street, south of Merton Street, north of Moore Avenue, and west of Bayview Avenue, in central Toronto. In 2000, the cemetery was designated as a national historic site.

The Grounds of Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Slopes and hills can challenge individuals out for a walk, run, roller blade or bike ride (but mind the speed limit of 10 km/h!) and who can encounter birds and squirrels roaming around the irregularly shaped islets. Monuments and statues that include urns, angels and Celtic crosses, as well as inscriptions on gravestones, can have visitors linger, as well as pools, fountains, botanical gardens and a variety of plants. Oak, birch, conifers and weeping willow trees loom over grave markers, some having done so for more than a century.

A stroll through the cemetery will reveal hills, ravines and woods-like areas. Nature lovers will marvel at the fresh blooms on plants in the spring, and in the colours of the foilage in the fall.

Famous People in Mount Pleasant Cemetery

More than 168,000 people, according to wikipedia.org, have their final resting place in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. This includes several well-known individuals, from music to politicians. They may be listed on Find A Grave for those wishing for an online look at their spot in Mount Pleasant.

Notable people at rest on the grounds include the co-discoverers of insulin, Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best; Canada’s first female surgeon, Jennie Smillie Robertson; musician Glenn Gould; department store magnates Timothy Eaton and Robert Simpson; founder of Rogers Communications Edward S. Rogers, Sr.; horse breeder, businessman and former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs Steve Stavro; founder of George Weston Limited George Weston; educator and literary critic Northrop Frye; and former Canadian primer minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

A monument honouring the victims of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in the St. Lawrence River in 1914 also stands in the cemetery.

Mount Pleasant Cemetery’s Address and Hours of Operation

Entrance to the cemetery is free, and it is normally open from 8 a.m. until sundown. Its exact address is 375 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Mount Pleasant Cemetery can best be described as a huge park with roads and paths weaving through woodland-like areas. Hills and ravines mark the landscape dotted with works of art in the forms of statues and monuments. Inscriptions on the surrounding grave markers reveal snippets of the stories of those who lay beneath: businessman, former prime minister, or beloved child gone too soon.

The copyright of the article Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto in E Canada Travel is owned by Tina Costanza. Permission to republish Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

The Park-Like Setting of Mount Pleasant Cemetery.	Statues Stand in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.	Flower Bloom in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
William Lyon Mackenzie King's Grave.	Trees Accompany Grave Markers.