The Markham City Council is the governing body of the city of

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It consists of the mayor, eight councillors who each represent one of the city's eight

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, and four regional councillors who, along with the mayor, are elected via

double direct election In Canada, a double direct election is an election in which an individual is elected to two political offices in one electoral event. The elected individual serves on a regional council and a constituent municipal government within that region. It d ...

to represent the city at

York Regional Council York Regional Council is the political body for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Created in 1970, it consists of 20 elected representatives plus the Regional Chair. The elected members are the mayors of each of its nine munici ...

. Council meets at the chambers at the Markham Civic Centre at the corner of Warden Avenue and Highway 7. The most recent municipal election was held in 2022.

History

Markham Village Markham Village ( 2006 population 6,090) is the historic town centre of Markham, Ontario, Canada. Originally settled in 1825, the village -- originally named "Reesorville" (reference to the Reesors settlers) sometime after 1804 and also known as ...

was incorporated as a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in 1850, establishing a council with one

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

, one deputy reeve, and three councillors. This system was used until 1 January 1971, when municipalities in York County were reorganized into the

Regional Municipality of York The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

, and Markham was newly incorporated as a town when Markham Village merged with Unionville and Thornhill east of Yonge Street. An electoral system based on six

was established, and this numeric ward system remains mostly unchanged since its creation. Two wards were added, one in 1976 (Ward 7), and another in 1984 (Ward 8). Minor boundary changes have taken place (1978, 1982, 1997 and 2006) with no impact of the numbering. Most ward changes require approval by the

Ontario Municipal Board The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) was an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It heard applications and appeals on municipal and planning disputes, as well as other matters sp ...

(in the case of 1976 and 1997) with only the 2006 changes not requiring prior approval. Changes were made to the boundaries for all 8 wards for 2014 elections with Thornhill assigned to Ward 1 to replace the former Ward 1 and 2 split. The changes also take into consideration existing neighbourhoods, natural boundaries, better representation by population, effective representation and accommodation for future growth of Markham. Then still under town status, the mayor, town councillors and regional councillors were elected by the residents of

every 3 years until 2006. Provincial legislation extended the election period to 4 years.

Town Council 2006-2010

Regional Councillors Regional councillor represent the city at