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, and South Korea. According to the 2006 Census, 54% of Burnaby residents have a mother tongue that is neither English nor French.
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