Burnaby

1858 – 1920s

Slow beginnings.

In 1858, the Fraser Valley Gold Rush drew an influx of settlers to the Burnaby area. During this time, North Road, Kingsway, Canada Way and Marine Drive were laid out, initially as routes for wagons built by Royal Engineers. The sound of saws reverberated through town in the 1870s and 1880s, with extensive logging in South Burnaby. But during this time settlers mostly considered Burnaby as the space between Vancouver and New Westminster.
That changed around the early 1890s, because during the late 1880s the Canadian Pacific Railway started extending its railway through the area. Land speculation followed, and businessmen built a small resort town by the Burrard Inlet near the end of North Road.

The founding date of current-day Burnaby was in 1891. This is also the founding date of Burnaby Central Park. But Burnaby would not officially become a city for a while later, though it was incorporated as a municipality in 1892. Around this time, the arrival of the electric interurban through the park between Vancouver and New Westminster via Burnaby prompted businessmen to offer properties in Burnaby. By around 1900, about 500 people lived in the town.

Burnaby was heavily forested in its early days.

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Around the 1910s, the Heights area was home to its first two settlers, Mr. James Herd and Mr. Peters. A streetcar trundled down Hastings St. and there were already six stores on this strip of land, which would become the prominent Heights shopping area that it is today.

An economic boom at the turn of the 20th century saw Burnaby’s population spike to around 14,000 by the time 1913 rolled around. A year later, an economic crisis hit, but the city’s first population surge mostly stayed. Many men went off to fight in the First World War, leading to a dip in population. After it ended the population hovered near 12,000. In 1914, the historic Burnaby Central Park entrance gate was built, though its decorative ironwork was removed in 1968.
During the 1920s, the city took on a working class character and newcomers flowed into Burnaby from other parts of Canada, northern Europe, the United States and Asia. At this time, many of the neighbourhoods we know today were established, including Vancouver Heights (now Burnaby Heights), Capitol Hill and Burnaby Lake. The Great Depression hit the city hard, ending this boom period. Recovery came during the Second World War, when employment was high in war-related industries in Burnaby.

1946 – 1960s

Post-war prosperity and suburban development.

The end of the Second World War meant many British Columbians moving to the suburbs, and the city of Burnaby was in a perfect location to accommodate them. Willingdon Heights saw the building of many homes for returning veterans in 1946, part of the National Housing Act. Many of these homes can still be seen today. Post-war prosperity brought another population boom, and by 1961, the city had a population of over 100,000.

The 1950s also included further development of the Burnaby Heights shopping district centered on Hastings St. In 1956, the iconic “swinging girl” neon sign was installed. Originally made for the store Helen’s Children’s Wear, it was later moved to its current location and modified to read “Heights” instead of “Helen’s.”
Higher education was also key to this era of the city’s history. The British Columbia Vocational School opened in Burnaby in 1960, and it's now known as the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). In 1965, Simon Fraser University (SFU) was established. SFU is known for its Brutalist concrete architecture and its stunning location at the top of Burnaby Mountain.

1970s – Today

The SkyTrain comes to town.

By the 1970s and 1980s, many more immigrants arrived in Burnaby. Also at this time, Metrotown started taking shape near the disused interurban railway tracks, which became the route the Expo Line SkyTrain follows today. In 1985, Metrotown Station opened, and the Metropolis at Metrotown shopping mall opened in 1986. In 1992, Burnaby was officially incorporated as a city, 100 years after its incorporation as a municipality.

Hats Off Day on Hastings St. traces its origins to the 1980s as well. From its humble beginnings as a sidewalk festival to the current day-long street fair with a parade, it has always been an opportunity for local merchants to thank their shoppers by “taking their hats off” to customers.

Burnaby gained another SkyTrain line in 2002 with the opening of the Millenium Line, with stations at Gilmore, Brentwood Town Centre, Holdom, Sperling-Burnaby Lake, Lake City Way, Production Way-University and Lougheed Town Centre. The city government saw SkyTrain stations as opportunities to increase density and selected Metrotown, Brentwood, Lougheed and Edmonds as locations to build condo and rental highrises. By 2016, about 30 highrises had been constructed near these stations.

Today, Burnaby is known for both its collections of condo towers huddled near SkyTrain stations and its neighbourhoods of post-war detached homes. Looking forward, Burnaby anticipates that it will add 100,000 people and 50,000 jobs by 2050. While it remains to be seen what exactly these new homes will be, it is likely to mean increased density. Additionally, the area around Metrotown station will be redeveloped to add more towers in addition to those already built, plus new community amenities and parks.

By looking at its past, we can see that Burnaby has always grown and changed. It has welcomed many new arrivals in previous years and is poised to continue to do so going forward.