Burnaby

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For other uses, see Burnaby (disambiguation).
Burnaby
City
City of Burnaby
Metrotown area, seen from Burnaby's Deer Lake
Metrotown area, seen from Burnaby's Deer Lake
Flag of Burnaby
Flag		 Coat of arms of Burnaby
Coat of arms
Motto: By River and Sea Rise Burnaby
GVRD Burnaby.svg
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Regional District Metro Vancouver
Established 1892 (municipality status)
– 1992 (city status)
Government
 • Mayor Derek Corrigan
 • MP
List of MPs
 • MLA
List of MLAs
Area
 • Total 90.61 km2 (34.98 sq mi)
Elevation Sea level to 370 m (0–1,214 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 223,218 (ranked 20th)
 • Density 2,463.5/km2 (6,380/sq mi)
Time zone Pacific Standard (PST) (UTC-8)
Postal codes V3N, V5A to V5J
Area code(s) 604, 778
Website www.burnaby.ca

Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver.

It was incorporated in 1892 and achieved City status in 1992, one hundred years after incorporation. It is the seat of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's government, the board of which calls itself Metro Vancouver.

History

At incorporation, the municipality's citizens unanimously chose to name it after the legislator, speaker, Freemason and explorer Robert Burnaby, who had been private secretary to Colonel Richard Moody, the first land commissioner for the Colony of British Columbia, in the mid-19th century.[1] In 1859 Burnaby had surveyed the freshwater lake near what is now the city's geographical centre. Moody chose to name it Burnaby Lake.

In the first 30 to 40 years after its incorporation, the growth of Burnaby was influenced by its location between expanding urban centres of Vancouver and New Westminster. It first served as a rural agricultural area supplying nearby markets. Later, it served as an important transportation corridor between Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Interior and continues to do so. As Vancouver expanded and became a metropolis, it was one of the first-tier bedroom community suburbs of Vancouver itself, along with the city and district of North Vancouver, and Richmond. Burnaby has shifted in character over time from rural to suburban to urban.

Geography and land use

File:CentralBurnaby.jpg
View of Metrotown and central Burnaby.

Burnaby occupies 98.60 square kilometres (38.07 sq mi) and is located at the geographical centre of the Metro Vancouver area. Situated between the city of Vancouver on the west and Port Moody, Coquitlam, and New Westminster on the east, Burnaby is further bounded by Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River 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 370 metres (1,200 ft) atop Burnaby Mountain. Due to its elevation, the city of Burnaby experiences quite a bit 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. The land features and their relative locations have had an influence on the location, type and form of development in the city.

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

Burnaby parks, rivers, and lakes

Major parklands and waterways in Burnaby include Central Park, Robert Burnaby Park, Kensington Park, Burnaby Mountain, Still Creek, the Brunette River, Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake, and Squint Lake.

Climate data for Burnaby (Simon Fraser University) 1981−2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.5
(61.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 23.0
(73.4)		 28.0
(82.4)		 33.0
(91.4)		 31.1
(88)		 34.0
(93.2)		 33.9
(93)		 34.5
(94.1)		 26.5
(79.7)		 19.4
(66.9)		 16.1
(61)		 34.5
(94.1)
Average high °C (°F) 5.8
(42.4)		 6.8
(44.2)		 9.3
(48.7)		 12.4
(54.3)		 15.6
(60.1)		 18.2
(64.8)		 21.2
(70.2)		 21.2
(70.2)		 18.0
(64.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 7.5
(45.5)		 5.1
(41.2)		 12.7
(54.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.6
(38.5)		 4.3
(39.7)		 6.2
(43.2)		 8.7
(47.7)		 11.8
(53.2)		 14.4
(57.9)		 17.0
(62.6)		 17.2
(63)		 14.6
(58.3)		 9.5
(49.1)		 5.3
(41.5)		 2.9
(37.2)		 9.6
(49.3)
Average low °C (°F) 1.4
(34.5)		 1.7
(35.1)		 3.1
(37.6)		 4.9
(40.8)		 7.9
(46.2)		 10.5
(50.9)		 12.7
(54.9)		 13.2
(55.8)		 11.1
(52)		 7.0
(44.6)		 3.0
(37.4)		 0.8
(33.4)		 6.5
(43.7)
Record low °C (°F) −13.9
(7)		 −14
(7)		 −8
(18)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 3.9
(39)		 5.0
(41)		 3.3
(37.9)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −7
(19)		 −14
(7)		 −19.4
(−2.9)		 −19.4
(−2.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 280.9
(11.059)		 178.4
(7.024)		 182.1
(7.169)		 154.4
(6.079)		 120.0
(4.724)		 101.4
(3.992)		 64.7
(2.547)		 64.5
(2.539)		 92.2
(3.63)		 210.1
(8.272)		 311.6
(12.268)		 249.8
(9.835)		 2,009.9
(79.13)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 256.5
(10.098)		 163.2
(6.425)		 171.2
(6.74)		 152.7
(6.012)		 119.9
(4.72)		 101.4
(3.992)		 64.7
(2.547)		 64.5
(2.539)		 92.2
(3.63)		 209.8
(8.26)		 303.6
(11.953)		 220.8
(8.693)		 1,920.7
(75.618)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 24.3
(9.57)		 15.1
(5.94)		 10.9
(4.29)		 1.7
(0.67)		 0.1
(0.04)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.2
(0.08)		 8.0
(3.15)		 29.0
(11.42)		 89.3
(35.16)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 20.5 16.2 18.9 16.1 14.9 13.5 7.4 6.8 10.3 17.1 21.6 19.8 183.1
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 18.1 14.7 18.3 16.0 14.9 13.5 7.4 6.8 10.3 17.0 21.0 17.3 175.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 4.0 2.5 2.0 0.54 0.04 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.09 1.8 4.5 15.5
Source: Environment Canada[2]

Transportation

The Brentwood neighbourhood, with Capitol Hill in the distance

The SkyTrain rapid transit system, based in Burnaby, crosses the city from east to west in two places: the Expo Line (completed in 1986) crosses the south along Kingsway and the Millennium Line (completed in 2002) follows Lougheed Highway. The SkyTrain has encouraged closer connections to New Westminster, Vancouver, and Surrey, as well as dense urban development at Lougheed Town Centre on the city's eastern border, at Brentwood Town Centre in the centre-west, 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 Lougheed 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 the Trans-Canada Highway and Canada Way. Since the 1990s, Burnaby has developed a network of cycling trails. It is also well served by Metro Vancouver's bus system, run by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, a division of TransLink.

Demographics

According to BC Stats, in 2010 the estimated population of Burnaby was 227,389.[3]

2011

According to the 2011 Canadian Census,[4] the population of Burnaby is 223,218, a 10.1% increase from 2006. The population density is 2,463.5 people per square km. The median age is 39.8 years old, which is slightly lower than the median age of Canada at 40.6 years old. There are 91,383 private dwellings with an occupancy rate of 95.0%. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the median value of a dwelling in Burnaby is $600,941 which is much higher than the national average at $280,552.

Burnaby is one of the eight cities in Canada (with populations over 100,000) which does not have a "majority racial group". The racial make up of Burnaby is:

Religious profile

Burnaby's religious profile:[5]

People and politics

While Burnaby occupies about 4% of the land area of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, it accounted for about 10% of the Region's population in 2001. It is the third most populated urban centre in British Columbia (after Vancouver and Surrey) with an estimated population of 205,261. Like much of Greater Vancouver, Burnaby has always had large ethnic and immigrant communities: to cite two examples, North Burnaby near Hastings Street has long been home to many Italian restaurants and recreational bocce games, while Metrotown's ever-sprouting condominium towers in the south have been fuelled in part by more recent arrivals from China (Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, South Korea, and the former Yugoslavia. According to the 2006 Census, 54% of Burnaby residents have a mother tongue that is neither English nor French.

Politically, Burnaby has maintained a centre-left city council (which recently completely eliminated the city's debt) and school board for many years, while sometimes electing more conservative legislators provincially (for the Social Credit and BC Liberal parties) and federally (for the Reform, Alliance, and Conservative parties). Its longest-serving politician had been Svend Robinson of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Canada's first openly gay 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 spring 2004 Canadian federal election. In the May 2005 provincial election, residents of the city sent a mix of BC Liberal and NDP representatives to the British Columbia legislature.

According to a 2009 survey by Maclean's magazine, Burnaby is 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.[6]

Industry and economy

Metrotown at sunset as seen from Lochdale

Major technology firms such as Electronic Arts, Creo (now part of Eastman Kodak), Ballard Power Systems and Telus base their operations in Burnaby; heavy industry includes Chevron Corporation and Petro-Canada petroleum refineries on the shores of Burrard Inlet. Other companies such as eBay (ceased operation in 2009),[7] Future Shop, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and Nokia have significant facilities in Burnaby as well. Other firms with operations based in Burnaby include Canada Wide Media, Doteasy, Telus, Teradici, AFCC, Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell, HSBC Group Systems Development Center, and TransLink. The city features high density residential areas, major commercial town centres, rapid transit, high technology research and business parks, film production studios such as The Bridge Studios, TV stations such as Global TV and comprehensive industrial estates.

Sports

Burnaby has an velodrome, the Burnaby Velodrome.

Education

School District 41 is responsible for the public schools in Burnaby. It also has a Community and Adult Education Department, and also an International Students' Programme. Major post-secondary institutions include the main campuses of Simon Fraser University (atop Burnaby Mountain) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Culture

Burnaby South Secondary School features the Michael J. Fox Theatre, a community theatre seats 613 with 11 wheelchair spaces.

Notable people

Joe Sakic, the former captain for the Colorado Avalanche
Actress Carrie-Anne Moss, from movies such as The Matrix trilogy and Memento

Symbols

Burnaby's official flower is the rhododendron.

Sister cities

Burnaby has four sister cities[8] (or "twin towns"):

Surrounding municipalities

 City of North Vancouver District of North Vancouver Belcarra, Anmore,
Port Moody
Vancouver Coquitlam
  Burnaby  
Richmond Delta New Westminster
Surrey

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 2010 Sub-Provincial Population Estimates. Accessed August 11th 2011[dead link]
  4. ↑ 2011 NHS/Census Profile of Burnaby: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915025&Data=Count&SearchText=burnaby&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://www.burnaby.ca/About-Burnaby/Sister---Friendship-Cities.html

External links

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