Burnaby

Burnaby
City
City of Burnaby
From top, left to right: Metrotownskyline, Brentwood Town Centre stationon the Millennium Line, Metropolis at Metrotownmall, Deer Lake Park, Burnaby Mountainand the Burrard Inlet, Cherry blossom bloom on a residential street, Brentwood, Metrotown, and Edmondsskylines
Flag Coat of arms Logo
Motto(s): By River and Sea Rise Burnaby
Location of Burnaby in Metro Vancouver
Coordinates:49°16′N122°58′W / 49.267°N 122.967°W /49.267; -122.967
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional district	Metro Vancouver
Established	1891
Incorporated as adistrict municipality	September 22, 1892
Incorporated as a city	September 22, 1992
Named for	Burnaby Lake
Seat	Burnaby City Hall
Government [1]
• Type	Mayor–council government
• Body	Burnaby City Council
• Mayor	Mike Hurley(Ind.)
• City council	List of councillors Pietro Calendino Sav Dhaliwal Alison Gu Joe Keithley Richard T. Lee Maita Santiago Daniel Tetrault James Wang
•MP	List of MPs Peter Julian(NDP)New Westminster—Burnaby Jagmeet Singh(NDP)Burnaby South Terry Beech(Liberal)Burnaby North—Seymour
•MLA	List of MLAs Raj Chouhan(NDP)Burnaby-Edmonds Anne Kang(NDP)Burnaby-Deer Lake Janet Routledge(NDP)Burnaby North Katrina Chen(NDP)Burnaby-Lougheed
Area [2]
• Total	96.6 km2(37.3 sq mi)
• Land	90.57 km2(34.97 sq mi)
Highest elevation ( Burnaby Mountain)	370 m (1,214 ft)
Lowest elevation ( Sea level)	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2021) [2]
• Total	249,125
• Estimate (2023) [3]	279,948
• Rank	22nd in Canada 3rd in British Columbia 3rd in Metro Vancouver
• Density	2,750.7/km2(7,124/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−08:00(Pacific Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−07:00(Pacific Daylight Time)
Forward sortation area	V3N, V5A – V5C, V5E, V5G – V5H, V5J
Area codes	604,778, 236, 672
Website	www.burnaby.ca

Burnabyis a city in theLower Mainlandregion ofBritish Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of theBurrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City ofVancouverto the west, theDistrict of North Vancouveracross the confluence of theBurrard Inletwith itsIndian Armto the north,Port MoodyandCoquitlamto the east,New WestminsterandSurreyacross theFraser Riverto the southeast, andRichmondon theLulu Islandto the southwest.

Burnaby was incorporated in 1892 and achieved its city status in 1992. A membermunicipalityofMetro Vancouver, it is British Columbia'sthird-largest cityby population (after Vancouver and Surrey), and is theseatof Metro Vancouver'sregional districtgovernment. 25% of Burnaby's land is designated as parks and open spaces, one of the highest inNorth America.^[4]

The main campuses ofSimon Fraser Universityand theBritish Columbia Institute of Technologyare located in Burnaby. It is home to high-tech companies such asBallard Power(fuel cell),Clio(legal software),D-Wave(quantum computing),General Fusion(fusion power), andEA Vancouver. Burnaby'sMetropolis at Metrotownis the largest mall in British Columbia, the third most visited in Canada and the fifth largest in the nation.^[5]Canada's largest film and television production studio^[6]and more than 60% of BC'ssound stagesare in Burnaby, contributing to the growth ofHollywood North.^[7]

The city is served bySkyTrain'sExpo LineandMillennium Line.Metrotown stationinMetrotownis the busiest station on weekends and the second-busiest on weekdays in regional Vancouver'surban transitsystem as of 2021.^[8]

Early inhabitants were thehən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓andSḵwx̱wú7meshspeaking Coast Salish Nations. Local landmarks such as Burnaby Mountain, Deer Lake, and Brunette River feature prominently in Indigenous history passed down through oral traditions.^[9]The northern shorelines of Burnaby, along the second narrows of Burrard Inlet was the site of an ancient battle between the attackingLekwiltokand the defendingMusqueamaccording to Chief Charlie Qiyəplenəxw.^[9]

TheCoast Salishpeople living in BC andWashington statenumbered more than 100,000 people, a level of population density supported by agriculture in other geographies.^[9]Techniques to preserve and store surplus food sustained a hierarchical society. Burnaby's marshlands along its rivers and lakes werecranberryharvesting areas for numerous villages, some numbering over 1,000 residents.^[9]Indigenous people travelled through Burnaby to reach the mouth of Brunette and Fraser River for the bountiful fishing seasons,eulachonin the spring andsockeye salmonin the late summer. Early European explorers andfur tradersintroduced diseases that decimated the Indigenous population. This false appearance of Burnaby as a vast open space, along with traditional Indigenous farming techniques which did not permanently alter the landscape, meant Indigenous land in Burnaby was mislabelled asterra nullius.^[9]

TheFraser Canyon Gold Rushof 1858, the first of many gold rushes in British Columbia, brought over 30,000 fortune seekers, including many American miners. The fear of an impending annexation by the United States led to the creation of theColony of British Columbiain 1858 and the establishment ofNew Westminsteras its capital.^[10]

Settlers in Burnaby acquired land through a process called pre-emption which allowed people to claim a piece of land by clearing forests and building houses. Indigenous people were excluded from pre-emption. Royal Engineers dispossessed land from Indigenous people with the assistance of military force including the original routes of North Road, Kingsway, Canada Way, and Marine Drive.Loggingpermits given to settlers destroyed the forests of southern Burnaby which had provided vital sustenance for Indigenous people.^[9]

The City of Burnaby is named after Burnaby Lake, in turn named afterRobert Burnaby, who was aFreemason, explorer, and legislator. He was previously private secretary to ColonelRichard Moody, the first land commissioner for the Colony of British of Columbia.^[11][12]In 1859, Burnaby surveyed a freshwater lake in the city's geographic centre. Moody named it Burnaby Lake.

Burnaby was established in 1891 and incorporated a year later in 1892. In the same year, the interurban tram connectingVancouver, Burnaby, andNew Westminsterbegan construction.^[9]

The expanding urban centres of Vancouver and New Westminster influenced the growth of Burnaby. It developed as an agricultural area supplying nearby markets. Later, it evolved into an important transportation corridor between Vancouver, theFraser Valleyand theInterior. The introduction of the Skytrain's Expo Line cemented this trend into the 21st century.

As Vancouver expanded and became a metropolis, Burnaby was one of the first-tiersuburbsof Vancouver, along withNorth VancouverandRichmond. During the suburbanization of Burnaby, "Mid-Century Vernacular" homes were built by the hundreds to satisfy demand by new residents. The establishment of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 1960 and Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 1965 helped Burnaby gradually become more urban in character. In 1992, one hundred years after its incorporation, Burnaby officially became a city.^[13]

Since the 1970s, Burnaby has seen a decline in resource sectors and a subsequent rise of high value-added services and technology sectors. The presence of BCIT and SFU promoted research & development in the area. For example, manufacturing plants near Still Creek closed in the late 1970s, only to reopen few years later as film production studios.^[9]The continued expansion of media production in Burnaby contributed toHollywood North.

Burnaby occupies 96.6 square kilometres (37.3 sq mi) and is located at the geographic centre of theMetro Vancouver Regional District. The city has four areas of urban density known as "town centres": Lougheed, Edmonds,Metrotown, and Brentwood. The city's governmental and cultural precincts are located in Burnaby's Deer Lake area. Situated between the city of Vancouver on the west andPort Moody,Coquitlam, andNew Westminsteron the east, Burnaby is bounded byBurrard Inletand theFraser Riveron the north and south, respectively. Burnaby, Vancouver and New Westminster collectively occupy the major portion of theBurrard Peninsula. The elevation of Burnaby ranges from sea level to a maximum of 370 metres (1,214 ft) atopBurnaby Mountain. Due to its elevation, the city of Burnaby typically has more snowfall during the winter months than nearby Vancouver or Richmond. Overall, the physical landscape of Burnaby is one of hills, ridges, valleys and an alluvial plain.

Burnaby is home to many industrial and commercial firms. British Columbia's largest (and Canada's second largest) commercial shopping mall,Metropolis at Metrotown, is located in Burnaby, as well as malls inBrentwoodandLougheedtown centres. Still, Burnaby's ratio of park land to residents is one of the highest in North America. It also maintains some agricultural land, particularly along the Fraser foreshore flats in the Big Bend neighbourhood along its southern perimeter.

Major parklands and waterways in Burnaby includeCentral Park,Robert Burnaby Park,Kensington Park,Burnaby Mountain,Still Creek, theBrunette River,Burnaby Lake,Deer Lake,Squint Lake, and Barnet Marine Park.

Burnaby's Simon Fraser University weather station is located 365 metres (1,198 ft) above sea level on Burnaby Mountain. Therefore, climate records are cooler and wetter, with more snowfall, as compared to the rest of the city.

Burnaby has anoceanic climate(Cfb) with mild, dry summers and cool, rainy winters.

Population history

Year	Pop.	±%
1921	12,883	—
1931	25,564	+98.4%
1941	30,328	+18.6%
1951	58,376	+92.5%
1956	83,745	+43.5%
1961	100,157	+19.6%
1966	112,036	+11.9%
1971	125,660	+12.2%
1976	131,599	+4.7%
1981	136,494	+3.7%
1986	145,161	+6.3%
1991	158,858	+9.4%
1996	179,209	+12.8%
2001	193,954	+8.2%
2006	202,799	+4.6%
2011	223,218	+10.1%
2016	232,755	+4.3%
2021	249,125	+7.0%
Source:Statistics Canada

In the2021 Canadian censusconducted byStatistics Canada, Burnaby had a population of 249,125 living in 101,136 of its 107,046 total private dwellings, an increase of7% from its 2016 population of 232,755. With a land area of 90.57 km²(34.97 sq mi), it had a population density of2,750.6/km²(7,124.1/sq mi) in 2021.^[2]

In 2016, the median age is 40.3 years old, slightly younger than the British Columbia median of 43.0 years old.

Similar to the Metro Vancouver region, Burnaby has diverse ethnic and immigrant communities. For example, North Burnaby near Hastings Street has long been home to manyItalianrestaurants and recreationalboccegames.Metrotown's high-rise condominium towers in the south have been fuelled in part by arrivals from China (Hong KongandMacau) during the 1990s, Taiwan, and South Korea^{[citation needed]}. According to the 2021 census, ethnicChinesemake up the largest ethnic group of Burnaby with 33.3% whileEuropeansmake up a close 2nd with 30.5%.^[15]

Panethnicgroups in Burnaby (2001–2021)

Panethnicgroup	2021[16]		2016[17][18]		2011[19][20]		2006[21]		2001[22]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
East Asian[a]	94,895	38.62%	89,470	38.89%	79,205	35.96%	71,435	35.57%	59,090	30.88%
European[b]	74,860	30.46%	79,575	34.59%	86,015	39.05%	86,560	43.1%	95,165	49.73%
South Asian	23,155	9.42%	18,735	8.14%	17,480	7.94%	16,840	8.38%	14,960	7.82%
Southeast Asian[c]	20,560	8.37%	17,620	7.66%	16,850	7.65%	10,915	5.43%	7,965	4.16%
Middle Eastern[d]	8,975	3.65%	6,660	2.89%	5,975	2.71%	3,700	1.84%	3,580	1.87%
Latin American	6,155	2.5%	4,630	2.01%	3,765	1.71%	2,785	1.39%	3,020	1.58%
African	4,985	2.03%	3,670	1.6%	3,445	1.56%	2,450	1.22%	2,480	1.3%
Indigenous	4,175	1.7%	4,195	1.82%	3,295	1.5%	3,005	1.5%	3,145	1.64%
Other/multiracial[e]	7,965	3.24%	5,530	2.4%	4,220	1.92%	3,170	1.58%	1,975	1.03%
Total responses	245,725	98.64%	230,080	98.85%	220,255	98.67%	200,855	99.04%	191,380	98.67%
Total population	249,125	100%	232,755	100%	223,218	100%	202,799	100%	193,954	100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

According to the 2006 census, 54% of Burnaby residents have a mother tongue that is neither English nor French. The 2016 census found that English was spoken as the mother tongue of 41.33 percent of the population. The next three most common languages wereMandarin(14.53 percent),Cantonese(12.32 percent) andTagalog(3.35 percent).^[23]

Mother tongue	Population	Percentage
English	91,850	41.33%
Mandarin	32,295	14.53%
Cantonese	27,375	12.32%
Tagalog	7,435	3.35%
Korean	7,010	3.15%
Punjabi	5,000	2.25%
Spanish	4,165	1.87%
Persian	4,080	1.84%
Italian	3,975	1.79%
Russian	2,650	1.19%

According to the2021 census, religious groups in Burnaby included:^[16]

• Irreligion(118,890 persons or 48.4%)
• Christianity(86,490 persons or 35.2%)
• Islam(13,735 persons or 5.6%)
• Buddhism(9,140 persons or 3.7%)
• Hinduism(7,505 persons or 3.1%)
• Sikhism(6,905 persons or 2.8%)
• Judaism(620 persons or 0.3%)
• Indigenous spirituality(130 persons or 0.1%)
• Other (2,325 persons or 0.9%)

The city features major commercial town centres, high-density residential areas, two rapid transit lines, technology research, business parks,film studiossuch asThe Bridge Studios, and TV stations such asGlobal TV.

Major technology firms such asBallard Power Systems(fuel cell),D-Wave Systems(quantum computing),Clio(legal tech),Creo(imaging), andElectronic ArtsCanada (studio) have their headquarters in Burnaby.

Metropolismall located in theMetrotownneighbourhood, thedowntown areaof Burnaby,^[24]is the largest mall in British Columbia withWest Vancouver'sPark Royalin second place. It is the second largest in Canada behind the first-placeWest Edmonton MallinAlberta. Metropolis was the second most visited mall in Canada in 2017 and third most visited in 2018.^[25]

Heavy industry companies includingChevron CorporationandPetro-Canadapetroleumrefinesoilon the shores ofBurrard Inlet.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers,Pacific Blue CrossandNokiahave significant facilities in Burnaby.

Other firms with operations based in Burnaby includeCanada Wide Media, Doteasy,Telus,Teradici,Mercedes-BenzFuel Cell,HSBCGroup Systems Development Centre, andTransLink.eBayceased local operations in 2009.^[26]

Over 24,000 students – across the 41elementary schoolsand 8secondary schools– are managed bySchool District 41in Burnaby. It operates a community and adult education department, aninternational studentsprogram, and aFrench immersionprogram.^[27]

TheBritish Columbia School for the Deafis located on the same grounds of theBurnaby South Secondary School.

Simon Fraser University's main campus, with more than 30,000 students and 950 staff, is located atopBurnaby Mountain. InMaclean's2020 rankings, the university placed first in their comprehensive university category, and ninth in their reputation ranking for Canadian universities.^[28]

British Columbia Institute of Technology's main campus in Burnaby, home to more than 49,000 full-time and part-time students, was established in 1964. A new $78 million, net-zero emission Health Science Centre, expected to open in late 2021, will accommodate 7,000 students.^[29]

Burnaby is home to multiple museums highlighting the diverse history and culture of the city.Burnaby Village Museumis a 4.0-hectare (10-acre) open-air museum preserving a 1920s Canadian village. The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, which includes a Japanese garden, opened in 2000 to promote awareness and understanding of Japanese Canadian culture. The Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and SFU Galleries are located within the Simon Fraser University campus at the top of Burnaby Mountain.

Burnaby Public Librarywas first established in 1954. It currently has four locations throughout the city, including the Bobbie Prittie Metrotown, McGill, Tommy Douglas and Cameron branches in each of the four town centres. The library system holds over three million items in circulation, with more than 5,000 visitors per day.

Many cultural facilities are located in or aroundDeer Lake Park, including theBurnaby Art Gallery, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, and the Burnaby Village Museum.

Michael J. Fox Theatre, a community theatre that seats 613, with 11 wheelchair spaces, is situated withinBurnaby South Secondary School.

The city's main stadium,Swangard Stadium, is located inCentral Park (Burnaby). It was completed in 1969. The stadium was home to theVancouver 86ers(now theVancouver Whitecaps FC) in theCanadian Soccer Leaguefrom 1986 to 2010, when the team relocated toBC Placeto play in theMajor League Soccer.

Burnaby co-hosted the 1973Canada GameswithNew Westminster.^[30]

Burnaby Velodromehosted the National Junior and U17 Track Championship in 2014.

Burnaby was the host for the2014 IQA Global Games, the second edition of the internationalquidditchchampionship.^[31]

TheSkyTrainOperations Controls Centre 1, built in the 1980s, is responsible for the maintenance and operations of both the region'sExpo LineandMillennium Line. In 2021, construction began on a $110 million Operations Controls Centre 2 to accommodate growing transit ridership.^[32]

The Expo Line, completed in 1986, crosses the south along Kingsway. The Millennium Line, completed in 2002, followsLougheed Highway. The SkyTrain has encouraged closer connections toNew Westminster,Vancouver, andSurrey, as well as dense urban development atLougheed Town Centreon the city's eastern border, atBrentwood Town Centrein the centre-west,Edmonds–Highgate in the southeast and, most notably, atMetrotownin the south.

Major north–south streets crossing the city include Boundary Road, Willingdon Avenue, Royal Oak Avenue, Kensington Avenue, Sperling Avenue, Gaglardi Way, Cariboo Road, and North Road. East–west routes linking Burnaby's neighbouring cities to each other includeHastings Street,Barnet Highway, theLougheed Highway,Kingsway(which follows the old horse trail between Vancouver and New Westminster), Canada Way and Marine Drive/Marine Way. Douglas Road, which used to cross the city from northwest to southeast, has largely been absorbed by theTrans-Canada Highwayand Canada Way.

Since the 1990s, more than 70 kilometres (43 mi) of bike routes and urban trails have been laid in Burnaby.^[33]

The city is served byMetro Vancouver's bus system, run by theCoast Mountain Bus Company, a division ofTransLink, the region's transportation authority. The 49 bus route, connecting Metrotown and theUniversity of British Columbia, is the second most boarded bus route^[34]afterroute 99, which is the busiest bus route in North America.^[35]Burnaby is also served by theR5 Hastings StRapidBus.^[36]

The 2050 Burnaby Transportation Plan, adopted in December 2021, outlines three targets: to reduce traffic fatalities to zero, to increase public transit and active transportation to 75 percent of all trips, and to reduce vehicle emissions by 100 percent.^[37]

While Burnaby occupies about 4 percent of the land area of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, it accounted for about 10 percent of the region's population in 2016. It is the third most populated urban centre in British Columbia (after Vancouver and Surrey), with a population of 249,125 (2021).

Burnaby federal election results ^[38]

Year		Liberal		Conservative		New Democratic		Green
	2021	33%	30,108	23%	20,915	38%	34,213	3%	2,633
	2019	27%	26,033	27%	25,974	37%	36,369	6%	6,155

Burnaby provincial election results ^[39]

Year		New Democratic		BC Liberal		Green
	2020	59%	45,721	29%	22,149	12%	9,097
	2017	50%	41,932	36%	30,576	13%	10,894

Politically, Burnaby has maintained a left-wing city council closely affiliated with the provincialNDPand school board for many years, while sometimes electing more conservative legislators provincially (from theSocial CreditandBC Liberalparties) and federally (from theReform,Alliance, andConservativeparties). Its longest-serving politician had beenSvend Robinsonof theNew Democratic Party(NDP), Canada's first openlygaymember of Parliament, but after 25 years and seven elections he resigned his post in early 2004 after stealing and then returning an expensive ring. Burnaby voters endorsed his assistant,Bill Siksay, as his replacement in the2004 Canadian federal election. In theMay 2013 provincial election, residents of the city sent 3 NDP MLAs and one Liberal MLA to the British Columbia legislature. The NDP MLA forBurnaby-Lougheed,Jane Shin, faced controversy after the election for misrepresenting herself as a physician despite not having completed a medical residency nor holding a licence to practice medicine.^[40]

According to a 2009 survey byMaclean'smagazine, Burnaby was Canada's best-run city. The survey looks at a city's efficiency, the cost of producing results, and the effectiveness of its city services.^[41]However, Maclean's did note that Burnaby has one of the worst municipal voter turnouts in the country, at 26 percent. In 2015, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) included Burnaby as a Vancouver periphery to rank eighth for entrepreneurial communities.^[42]

• Karl Alzner, NHL hockey player
• Glenn Anderson, former NHL hockey player
• Andrea Bang, actor, known forKim's Convenience
• Michael Bublé, singer
• Christy Clark, former premier ofBritish Columbia
• Kris Chucko, NHL hockey player
• Ian James Corlett, voice actor, writer, and TV producer
• Robin Esrock, South African–born Canadian travel writer, TV host and author
• Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor
• Kaleigh Fratkin(born 1992), professional ice hockey player
• Jacob Hoggard, lead singer ofHedley
• Joe Keithley, musician and Burnaby politician
• Braam Jordaan, South African–born entrepreneur, filmmaker, animator, and activist
• Eagle Keys, American-born CFL football player and head coach
• Jason LaBarbera, NHL hockey player
• Brad Loree, movie stuntman
• Kenndal McArdle, former NHL hockey player and investment banker
• John H. McArthur,Harvard Business Schooldean
• Darren McCarty, NHL hockey player
• Carrie-Anne Moss, movie, television and voice actress
• Dave Nonis, former senior vice president and director of Hockey Operations of theToronto Maple Leafs
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, NHL hockey player
• Mark Olver, NHL and KHL hockey player
• Tyler O'Neill, MLB player for theBoston Red Sox
• Buzz Parsons, NASL soccer player and later CSL coach
• Dugald Campbell Patterson, Scottish-born Burnaby pioneer
• Colin Percival, computer scientist
• Dick Phillips, American-born MLB baseball player and PCL team manager
• Roy Radu, Rugby union player
• Svend Robinson, former federal MP, arbitrator/advocate and parliamentary relations consultant
• Cliff Ronning, former NHL hockey player
• Joe Sakic, former NHL hockey player
• Mike Santorelli, NHL hockey player
• Murray SawChuck, Canadian-born Las Vegas-based magician
• Gurv and Harv Sihra, Indian-Canadian professional wrestlers known as Sunil and Samir Singh
• Josh Simpson, USL soccer player
• Christine Sinclair, NWSL soccer player and captain of theCanadian Women's National Soccer Team.
• Don Taylor, Vancouver-area television sportscaster
• Patrick Wiercioch, NHL hockey player
• Greg Zanon, AHL and NHL hockey player

Burnaby has foursister cities:^[43]

• Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan (1965)
• Mesa, Arizona, United States (1998)
• Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (2010)
• Zhongshan,Guangdong, China (2011)

• Burnabytravel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website