Burnaby is a city in the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

with its

Indian Arm Indian Arm () is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the Last Glacial Period, last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcarra (t ...

to the north,

Port Moody Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south ...

and

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

to the east,

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

across the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

to the southeast, and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the List of Canadian islands by population, second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancou ...

to the southwest. It has a population of 249,125 as of the 2021 census. Burnaby was incorporated in 1892 and achieved its city status in 1992. A member

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and Corporation, corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as o ...

, it is British Columbia's third-largest city by population (after Vancouver and Surrey), and is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of Metro Vancouver's regional district government. 25% of Burnaby's land is designated as parks and open spaces, one of the highest in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The main campuses of

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

and the

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main cam ...

are located in Burnaby. It is home to high-tech companies such as Ballard Power (

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

(legal software), D-Wave (

quantum computing A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of wave-particle duality, both particles and waves, and quantum computing takes advantage of this behavior using s ...

), General Fusion (

fusion power Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices d ...

), and

EA Vancouver EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest a ...

. Burnaby's

Metropolis at Metrotown Metropolis at Metrotown (commonly referred to as Metrotown) is a three-storey shopping mall complex in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1986, it is the largest mall in British Columbia and the third-largest ...

is the largest mall in British Columbia, the third most visited in Canada and the fifth largest in the nation. Canada's largest film and television production studio and more than 60% of BC's

sound stages A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

are in Burnaby, contributing to the growth of

Hollywood North Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the cities T ...

. The city is served by SkyTrain's Expo Line and

Millennium Line The Millennium Line is the second line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned and operated by BC Rapid Transit Company, a subsidiary of TransLink, and links the cities ...

. Metrotown station in Metrotown is the busiest station on weekends and the second-busiest on weekdays in regional Vancouver's

urban transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

system as of 2021.

History

Pre-colonial (before 1850)

Early inhabitants were the '' hən̓q̓əmín̓əm̓'' and ''Sḵwx̱wú7mesh'' speaking Coast Salish Nations. Local landmarks such as Burnaby Mountain, Deer Lake, and Brunette River feature prominently in Indigenous history passed down through oral traditions. The northern shorelines of Burnaby, along the second narrows of Burrard Inlet was the site of an ancient battle between the attacking

Lekwiltok Laich-kwil-tach (also spelled Liǧʷiłdaxʷ), is the Anglicization of the Kwak'wala autonomy by the "Southern Kwakiutl" people of Quadra Island and Campbell River, British Columbia, Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada. There are today tw ...

and the defending

Musqueam The Musqueam Nation ( Hunquminum: ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musq ...

according to Chief Charlie Qiyəplenəxw. The

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

people living in BC and

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

numbered more than 100,000 people, a level of population density supported by agriculture in other geographies. Techniques to preserve and store surplus food sustained a hierarchical society. Burnaby's marshlands along its rivers and lakes were

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

harvesting areas for numerous villages, some numbering over 1,000 residents. Indigenous people travelled through Burnaby to reach the mouth of Brunette and Fraser River for the bountiful fishing seasons,

eulachon The eulachon ( (''Thaleichthys pacificus''), also spelled oolichan , ooligan , hooligan ), or the candlefish, is a small anadromous species of smelt that spawns in some of the major river systems along the Pacific coast of North America from no ...

in the spring and

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a ...

in the late summer. Early European explorers and

fur traders The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

introduced 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 as

terra nullius ''Terra nullius'' (, plural ''terrae nullius'') is a Latin expression meaning " nobody's land". Since the nineteenth century it has occasionally been used in international law as a principle to justify claims that territory may be acquired ...

Incorporation (1850–1990)

The

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...

of 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 the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...

in 1858 and the establishment of

as its capital. 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.

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks The City of Burnaby is named after Burnaby Lake, in turn named after Robert Burnaby, who was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, explorer, and legislator. He was previously private secretary to Colonel

Richard Moody Major-General Richard Clement Moody (13 February 1813 – 31 March 1887) was a British Governor and Commander of the Royal Engineers. He was the founder and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia; and was Commanding Executive ...

, the first land commissioner for the Colony of British of Columbia. 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 connecting

, Burnaby, and

began construction.

Recent

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, the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from th ...

and the Interior. 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-tier

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Vancouver, along with North Vancouver and

. 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. 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. The continued expansion of media production in Burnaby contributed to

Geography and land use

Burnaby occupies and is located at the geographic centre of the

Metro Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 2 ...

. 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 and

, and

on the east, Burnaby is bounded by

and the

on the north and south, respectively. Burnaby, Vancouver and New Westminster collectively occupy the major portion of the Burrard Peninsula. The elevation of Burnaby ranges from sea level to a maximum of atop

Burnaby Mountain Burnaby Mountain, elev. , is a low, forested mountain in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia, overlooking the upper arms of Burrard Inlet. It is the location of Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus, the Discovery Park research community, and ...

. 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,

, is located in Burnaby, as well as malls in Brentwood and Lougheed town 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.

Parks, rivers, and lakes

Major parklands and waterways in Burnaby include

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

, Robert Burnaby Park, Kensington Park,

Still Creek Still Creek is a long stream flowing across Central Burnaby, British Columbia and into Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby Lake (which outflows into the Brunette River). Still Creek's path lies mainly through the industrial area which contributes ...

, the Brunette River, Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake,

Squint Lake Squint Lake is a small lake in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is located southwest of Burnaby Mountain. Squint Lake is surrounded by Burnaby Mountain Golf Course. Squint Lake Park is to the north of the lake. Eagle Creek (Burnaby), Eagle C ...

, and Barnet Marine Park.

Climate

Burnaby's Simon Fraser University weather station is located 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 an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

( Cfb) with mild, dry summers and cool, rainy winters.

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Burnaby had a population of 249,125 living in 101,136 of its 107,046 total private dwellings, an increase of from its 2016 population of 232,755. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In 2016, the median age is 40.3 years old, slightly younger than the British Columbia median of 43.0 years old.

Ethnicity

Burnaby has diverse ethnic and immigrant communities. For example, North Burnaby near Hastings Street has long been home to many

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

restaurants and recreational

bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anc ...

games. Metrotown's high-rise condominium towers in the south have been fuelled in part by arrivals from China (

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

) during the 1990s, Taiwan, and South Korea . According to the 2021 census, ethnic

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

make up the largest ethnic group of Burnaby with 33.3% while

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

make up a close 2nd with 30.5%.

Language

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 were

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

(14.53 percent),

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

(12.32 percent) and Tagalog (3.35 percent).

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Burnaby included: *

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(118,890 persons or 48.4%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(86,490 persons or 35.2%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(13,735 persons or 5.6%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(9,140 persons or 3.7%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(7,505 persons or 3.1%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(6,905 persons or 2.8%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(620 persons or 0.3%) * Indigenous spirituality (130 persons or 0.1%) *Other (2,325 persons or 0.9%)

Industry and economy

The city features major commercial town centres, high-density residential areas, two rapid transit lines, technology research, business parks,

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

s such as The Bridge Studios, and TV stations such as

Global TV The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

Major technology firms such as

Ballard Power Systems Ballard Power Systems Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for markets such as heavy-duty motive (consisting of bus and tram applications), portable power, material handling as well as enginee ...

(

D-Wave Systems D-Wave Quantum Inc. is a quantum computing company with locations in Palo Alto, California and Burnaby, British Columbia. D-Wave claims to be the world's first company to sell computers that exploit quantum effects in their operation. D-Wa ...

(

(legal tech), Creo (imaging), and

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

Canada (studio) have their headquarters in Burnaby.

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

mall located in the Metrotown neighbourhood, the downtown area of Burnaby, is the largest mall in British Columbia with

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, divided between the London Borough of Ealing and the London Borough of Brent. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, togethe ...

in second place. It is the second largest in Canada behind the first-place

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Metropolis was the second most visited mall in Canada in 2017 and third most visited in 2018. Heavy industry companies including

Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened t ...

and

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada (colloquially known as Petro-Can) is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor En ...

petroleum refines

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

on the shores of

. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers,

Pacific Blue Cross PBC Health Benefits Society, operating as Pacific Blue Cross, is a not-for-profit health insurance provider headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Cana ...

and

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

have significant facilities in Burnaby. Other firms with operations based in Burnaby include

Canada Wide Media Canada Wide Media Limited is a publishing company in Western Canada, based in Burnaby, British Columbia. History Canada Wide Media Limited co-founder and CEO Peter Legge purchased a ten-cent magazine in 1976. In 2023 it was bought by the Aliv ...

, Doteasy,

Telus Communications Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, v ...

Teradici Teradici Corporation was a privately held software company founded in 2004, which was acquired by HP Inc. in October 2021. Teradici initially developed a protocol (PCoIP) for compressing and decompressing images and sound when remotely accessing ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

Fuel Cell,

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

Group Systems Development Centre, and TransLink.

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

ceased local operations in 2009.

Education

Public education

Over 24,000 studentsacross the 41

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

and 8

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

are managed by School District 41 in Burnaby. It operates a community and adult education department, an

international students International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their Secondary education, secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 m ...

program, and a

French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...

program. The British Columbia School for the Deaf is located on the same grounds of the Burnaby South Secondary School.

Higher education

's main campus, with more than 30,000 students and 950 staff, is located atop

. In ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' 2020 rankings, the university placed first in their comprehensive university category, and ninth in their reputation ranking for Canadian universities.

'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.

Arts and culture

Burnaby is home to multiple museums highlighting the diverse history and culture of the city.

Burnaby Village Museum The Burnaby Village Museum, previously known as the Heritage Village, is an open-air museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, located at Deer Lake Park. It is open seasonally from May to September and opens for special events taking place Sep ...

is a 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 Library was 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 around Deer Lake Park, including the

Burnaby Art Gallery The Burnaby Art Gallery (abbreviated as BAG) is an art museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The museum is located on the northern periphery of Deer Lake Park, situated off of Deer Lake Avenue. The museum occupies Fairacres Mansion, designa ...

, 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 within Burnaby South Secondary School.

Sports

The city's main stadium,

Swangard Stadium Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park (Burnaby), Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for association football, soccer, rugby, Canadian Football, football, and sport of athletics, athletics, the stadiu ...

, is located in

Central Park (Burnaby) Central Park is a urban park in Burnaby, British Columbia, founded in 1891. The park is on the Vancouver–Burnaby border, just west of the Metropolis at Metrotown shopping complex, and is bounded by Boundary Road on the west, Kingsway on the ...

. It was completed in 1969. The stadium was home to the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

(now the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

) in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

from 1986 to 2010, when the team relocated to

BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

to play in the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. It is currently the home of the

Vancouver Rise FC Vancouver Rise FC is a professional women's soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that competes in the Northern Super League, in the top flight of the Canadian soccer league system#Women, Canadian soccer league system. Majority-own ...

of the

Northern Super League The Northern Super League (NSL; ) is a Canada soccer league system#Women, top-division professional women's association football, women's soccer league in Canada. The league is owned and operated by Project 8 Sports, Inc., and includes six team ...

. Burnaby co-hosted the 1973

Canada Games The Canada Games () is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two separate programs are or ...

with

. Burnaby Velodrome hosted the National Junior and U17 Track Championship in 2014. Burnaby was the host for the

2014 IQA Global Games The 2014 IQA World Cup, known at the time as the Global Games, was the second edition of the international team quidditch championship. It was played in Burnaby, Canada, and the United States won the tournament for the second time in a row, wi ...

, the second edition of the international

quidditch Quidditch () is a fictional sport invented by author J. K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). In the series, Quidditch is portrayed as a dang ...

championship.

Transportation

The SkyTrain Operations Controls Centre 1, built in the 1980s, is responsible for the maintenance and operations of both the region's Expo Line and

. In 2021, construction began on a $110 million Operations Controls Centre 2 to accommodate growing transit ridership. The Expo Line, completed in 1986, crosses the south along Kingsway. The Millennium Line, completed in 2002, follows

Lougheed Highway Lougheed is an Irish variant of a surname of Scottish origins, meaning ''head of the lake''. Lougheed or Loughead may refer to: Places * Lougheed, Alberta, a Canadian village * Lougheed Island, Nunavut, Canada * Lougheed Highway, part of British ...

. The SkyTrain has encouraged closer connections to

, and

, as well as dense urban development at Lougheed Town Centre on the city's eastern border, at

Brentwood Town Centre The Amazing Brentwood (previously Brentwood Town Centre and also referred to as Brentwood Mall) is a shopping mall in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the Brentwood Park area of North Burnaby, at the intersection of Willingdon ...

in the centre-west, Edmonds–Highgate in the southeast and, most notably, at Metrotown in 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 include Hastings Street, Barnet Highway, the

, 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 the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

and Canada Way. Since the 1990s, more than of bike routes and urban trails have been laid in Burnaby. The city is served by Metro Vancouver's bus system, run by the

Coast Mountain Bus Company Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known local ...

, a division of TransLink, the region's transportation authority. The 49 bus route, connecting Metrotown and the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, is the second most boarded bus route after route 99, which is the busiest bus route in North America. Burnaby is also served by the R5 Hastings St RapidBus. 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.

Politics

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). Politically, Burnaby has maintained a left-wing city council closely affiliated with the provincial NDP and school board for many years, while sometimes electing more conservative legislators provincially (from the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

and

BC Liberal BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

parties) and federally (from the

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

, and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

parties). Its longest-serving politician had been

Svend Robinson Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, representing suburban Vancouver-area constituencies in the city of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He was the first ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP), Canada's first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

member 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 the

2004 Canadian federal election The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue ...

. In the May 2013 provincial election, residents of the city sent 3 NDP MLAs and one Liberal MLA to the British Columbia legislature. The NDP MLA for Burnaby-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. According to a 2009 survey by ''

'' magazine, 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. 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.

Notable people

Karl Alzner Karl Alexander Alzner (born September 24, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected in the first round, fifth overall, by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draf ...

, NHL hockey player *

Glenn Anderson Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. Anders ...

, former NHL hockey player *

Andrea Bang Andrea Bang (born 2 May 1989) is a Canadian actress and screenwriter from Burnaby, British Columbia. She is best known for playing Janet Kim in the CBC comedy '' Kim's Convenience'', for which she was nominated three times at the Canadian Scree ...

, actor, known for

Kim's Convenience ''Kim's Convenience'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadians, Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park ...

* Andrew Boden, writer *

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

, singer *

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...

, former premier of

* Kris Chucko, NHL hockey player *

Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of the animated series '' Being Ian'' and '' Yvon of the Yukon'' with Studio B Productions, with notable voice roles including Mega Man ...

, voice actor, writer, and TV producer * Robin Esrock, South African–born Canadian travel writer, TV host and author *

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

, Canadian-American actor * Kaleigh Fratkin (born 1992), professional ice hockey player *

Jacob Hoggard Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian former musician who was the lead singer for the pop rock band Hedley. Hoggard competed on the second season of ''Canadian Idol'' in 2004, where he placed third. In 2018, Hoggard was arr ...

, lead singer of Hedley *

Joe Keithley Joseph Edward "Joey Shithead" Keithley (né Keighley; June 3, 1956)
is a Canadia ...

, musician and Burnaby politician *

Braam Jordaan Braam Jordaan (born 1981) is a South African entrepreneur, filmmaker, animator, and activist. He is an advocate for Sign Language and human rights of Deaf people, and a board member of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section. In 2009, Jor ...

, South African–born entrepreneur, filmmaker, animator, and activist *

Eagle Keys Eagle Keys (December 4, 1923 – December 20, 2012) was an American born professional Canadian football player who played and coached in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently List of Canadian Football League head coaches by wins, ...

, American-born CFL football player and head coach *

Jason LaBarbera Antonio Jason LaBarbera (born January 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1998 NHL Entry ...

, NHL hockey player *

Brad Loree Bradley Clifford Roy Loree (born July 5, 1960) is a Canadian actor and stuntman. He is a member of Stunts Canada. He played Michael Myers in '' Halloween: Resurrection'' (2002). Loree was born in Burnaby. He is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall.

, movie stuntman * Kenndal McArdle, former NHL hockey player and investment banker * John H. McArthur,

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

dean *

Darren McCarty Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and professional wrestler, best known for his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known f ...

, NHL hockey player *

Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000), for ...

, movie, television and voice actress *

Dave Nonis David M. Nonis (born May 25, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and is currently an assistant general manager and senior VP of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames. Playing career Growing up in Burnaby, B.C., Nonis played juni ...

, former senior vice president and director of Hockey Operations of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (born April 12, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Nuge" by Oilers fans, Nugent-Hopkins was selected first ove ...

, NHL hockey player * Mark Olver, NHL and KHL hockey player *

Tyler O'Neill Tyler Alan O'Neill (born June 22, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. He has represented ...

, MLB player for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Buzz Parsons Les "Buzz" Parsons (born 16 December 1950) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. During his career in North America with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Parsons was affectionately kno ...

, NASL soccer player and later CSL coach * Dugald Campbell Patterson, Scottish-born Burnaby pioneer *

Colin Percival Colin A. Percival (born 1980) is a Canadian computer scientist and computer security researcher. He completed his undergraduate education at Simon Fraser University and a doctorate at the University of Oxford. While at university he joined the F ...

, computer scientist * Dick Phillips, American-born MLB baseball player and PCL team manager * Roy Radu, Rugby union player *

, former federal MP, arbitrator/advocate and parliamentary relations consultant * Cliff Ronning, former NHL hockey player *

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; () born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, which lasted from 1988 to 2009, with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado ...

, former NHL hockey player * Mike Santorelli, NHL hockey player * Murray SawChuck, Canadian-born Las Vegas-based magician * Niko Sigur, professional soccer player * Gurv and Harv Sihra, Indian-Canadian professional wrestlers known as Sunil and Samir Singh * Josh Simpson, USL soccer player *

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a retired Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who most recently played as a Forward (association football), forward for the Portland Thorns FC, Portland Thorns of the ...

, NWSL soccer player and captain of the

Canadian Women's National Soccer Team The Canada women's national soccer team () represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. The team reached international prominence at the ...

. * Don Taylor, Vancouver-area television sportscaster * Patrick Wiercioch, NHL hockey player * Greg Zanon, AHL and NHL hockey player

Sister cities

Burnaby has four

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

: *

Kushiro, Hokkaido is a Cities of Japan, city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern ...

, Japan (1965) *

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

, United States (1998) * Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (2010) *

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China (2011)

Notes

References

* Adapted fro
Home

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in British Columbia Populated places in Greater Vancouver Populated places established in 1892 1892 establishments in British Columbia