Burnaby - Douglas

This is an urban riding, located east of Vancouver on the southern shore of Burrard Inlet. It contains that part of Burnaby bounded in the east, north and west by the city limits and on the south by the Kingsway.

According to the 2006 census, more than 47 per cent of this riding's residents are immigrants. About 30 per cent are of Chinese origin.

Burnaby-Douglas has a diverse economy, which includes retail trade, manufacturing and other services. Simon Fraser University is here. Residents are well-educated – almost 30 per cent over age 25 have a university certificate or degree. The average family income is $78,973 and the unemployment rate is 6.7 per cent.

This riding was created in 1996, drawing three-quarters of its population from the old Burnaby-Kingsway riding. In 2004, it retained 85 per cent of its population and added about 7,500 people from Vancouver South-Burnaby.

Population: 112,119 (2006 census; an increase of 3.0% since 2001)

Political History

The 2006 election was a virtual repeat of 2004: New Democrat Bill Siksay defeated Liberal Bill Cunningham. In 2004, Siksay edged Cunningham when he captured just two per cent more of the vote; in 2006, the margin increased to 2.6 per cent.

For the previous 25 years, voters in Burnaby-Kingsway and Burnaby-Douglas gave their support to New Democrat Svend Robinson. However, Robinson stepped down in April 2004, citing severe stress after confessing to stealing a ring at a public jewelry sale.

Robinson's 2000 win was no landslide: He held off the Canadian Alliance's Alan McDonnell by fewer than 2,000 votes. In the quarter-century before Robinson, the NDP and its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, carried all but two elections here.

Burnaby-Kingsway:

• 1988, 1993 - NDP

Burnaby-Douglas:

• 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006 - NDP