Photo: Zacharycmango · CC BY-SA 4.0

0historic places on the registers

History of Burnaby · Canada’s heritage registers

Burnaby was founded in 1891

The nearest heritage to Burnaby is Hastings Park, 6.3 km off, one of 11 places within 10 km. The closest top-tier heritage is in Strathcona, 9 km from here.

Historic places within 10 km

2 of the highest designation

Nearest historic place

6.3 km

Hastings Park

Homes built before 1961

11%

typical town: 18%

How it began

Burnaby since 1891: its early dates

Burnaby got its start in 1891. That makes it 135 years old. The municipality of Burnaby was incorporated as a city in 1992.

On Wikidata the municipality of Burnaby dates to 1892, with no word on whether that was its founding or a later incorporation. Behind the name Burnaby is Robert Burnaby.

How it began: Wikidata (CC0); dates read from English Wikipedia’s article “Burnaby”, revision 1384149967 (CC BY-SA 4.0), and stated in our own words.

The age of the area

Most of what stands within 10 km of Burnaby dates from the decades after Confederation

Places near Burnaby (within 10 km, outside the town), each by the first construction date it records.

British North America 1760–18660

After Confederation 1867–19136

Wars and Depression 1914–19452

Since 1946 1946 on1

Within 10 km, building dates exist for 9 places. The earliest is Vancouver's Chinatown in Strathcona, begun in 1880.

Around the town

Hastings Park, 6.3 km from Burnaby, is the closest

Vancouver's Chinatown, 9.6 km off, is the oldest: 1880. Of the 2 of the highest rank, the nearest is Vancouver Japanese Language School, 9.4 km away. The registers hold 11 within 10 km.

The 11 nearest, within 10 km

Hastings ParkProvincially Recognized Heritage Site · 1888 · 6.3 km away, in Hastings-Sunrise

Holy Trinity CathedralListed in a community heritage register · 1902 · 6.8 km away, in New Westminster

Canadian National Railways / VIA Rail Station, Vancouver, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1917–1918 · 9.2 km away, in Strathcona

Vancouver Japanese Language SchoolNational Historic Site · 1928–1929 · 9.4 km away, in Strathcona

Kuomintang BuildingHeritage designation · 9.5 km away, in Strathcona

Vancouver's ChinatownNational Historic Site · 1880–2003 · 9.6 km away, in Strathcona

Ovaltine CafeListed in a community heritage register · 1912 · 9.6 km away, in Strathcona

Carnegie Community CentreHeritage designation · 9.7 km away, in Yaletown

Pantages TheatreListed in a community heritage register · 1907 · 9.8 km away, in Yaletown

Bloedel ConservatoryListed in a community heritage register · 1969 · 9.8 km away, in Riley Park

Sam Kee BuildingHeritage designation · 1913 · 10 km away, in Yaletown

Homes by age

A growing town: 13% of Burnaby’s homes went up from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%

Homes from before 1961 are 11% of Burnaby’s housing, below the typical 18%. Burnaby’s largest group of homes, 28%, went up from 1981 to 2000. 24% of Burnaby’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, more than the typical town’s 15%.

11%

Before 1961

25%

1961–80

28%

1981–2000

24%

2001–15

13%

2016–21

BurnabyTypical town

2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.

Neighbours

Burnaby and its neighbours

Town	People	Oldest
Burnaby	299,682	—
Deer Lake	8,417	—
Buckingham Heights	8,794	—
Garden Village	6,492	—
Holdom	7,976	—
Metrotown	36,594	—
Bainbridge	3,015	—

In brief

Burnaby in brief

Most of its homes are post-1960: only 11% came earlier, against 18% in the typical town.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
The tiers. National Historic Sites and the most protected buildings form the top tier; recognized federal buildings, stations and lighthouses the second; provincial and municipal listings the third.
People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
The grade. History isn’t one of Canada’s graded pillars, so this page describes and compares without a letter.
Provincial and municipal lists. The local and provincial lists outside Québec aren’t published openly, so this page counts what Wikidata records and pages only the places an encyclopedia describes.

Questions about Burnaby’s history

How many historic places does Burnaby have on the registers?

Not inside Burnaby. The closest is Hastings Park in Hastings-Sunrise, 6.3 km away.

How old are the homes in Burnaby?

Before 1961: 11% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.

Why might a heritage building in Burnaby be missing here?

Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows 25 more listings in Burnaby, but without an open description or an encyclopedia article they get no page.

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).

Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).