Burnaby was incorporated in 1892 and achieved City status in 1992, one hundred years after incorporation. 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 of the Province.

Burnaby occupies 98.60 square kilometers (38.07 square miles) and is located at the geographical centre of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Situated between the City of Vancouver on the west and Port Moody, Coquitlam and New Westminster on the east, the City 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 1,200 feet atop Burnaby Mountain. 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.

While Burnaby occupies about 4 percent of the land area of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, it accounted for about 10% of the Region's population in 2006. It is the third most populated urban centre in British Columbia with an estimated population of 202,799.

Burnaby is a maturing, increasingly integrated community, that is centrally located within a rapidly growing metropolitan area. Burnaby's characteristic has shifted from rural to suburban to largely urban. The City features high density residential areas, major commercial town centres, rapid transit, high technology research and business parks, comprehensive industrial estates and major post-secondary institutions.