Markham () is a city in

York Region 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 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is approximately northeast of

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

(GTA), and 16th largest in Canada. The city gained its name from the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada,

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

(in office 1791–1796), who named the area after his friend, William Markham, the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

from 1776 to 1807. Indigenous people lived in the area of present-day Markham for thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the area. The first European settlement in Markham occurred when William Berczy, a German artist and developer, led a group of approximately sixty-four German families to North America. While they planned to settle in New York, disputes over finances and land tenure led Berczy to negotiate with Simcoe for in what would later become Markham Township in 1794. Since the 1970s, Markham rapidly shifted from being an agricultural community to an industrialized municipality due to

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

from neighbouring

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Markham changed its status from town to city on July 1, 2012."Markham to change from town to city"
.

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, May 30, 2012. , tertiary industry mainly drives Markham. , "business services" employed the largest proportion of workers in Markham – nearly 22% of its labour force. The city also has over 1,000 technology and life-sciences companies, with

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

as the city's largest employer. Several multinational companies have their Canadian headquarters in Markham, including: Honda Canada,

Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a Information technology, hardware and F ...

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

Avaya Avaya LLC(), formerly Avaya Inc., is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. The company's platform includes unified commun ...

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...

Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

Toyota Financial Services The business known as Toyota Financial Services covers more than 30 countries and regions, including Japan. Financial services operations are coordinated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota Financial Services ...

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

and Scholastic Canada.

History

Indigenous people lived in the area of present-day Markham since the end of the last Ice Age and the city is situated on the traditional territory of the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

(

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

), Huron Wendat,

Petun The Petun (from ), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati (Dionnontate, Etionontate, Etionnontateronnon, Tuinontatek, Dionondadie, or Khionotaterrhonon) ("People among the hills/mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the w ...

and

Neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

people. In the early 1600s, when explorers from France arrived, they encountered the Huron-Wendat First Nation. The southwest corner of Markham is included in Treaty 13, known as the

Toronto Purchase The Toronto Purchase was the sale of lands in the Toronto area from the Mississaugas of New Credit to the British crown. An initial, disputed, agreement was made in 1787, in exchange for various items. The agreement was revisited in 1805, int ...

of 1787, which transferred roughly 250,800 acres of land from the Mississauga people to the British Crown for 10 shillings and fishing rights on the Etobicoke river. The remainder of Markham's land (roughly east of Woodbine Avenue/Highway 404) is covered by the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787-88 (aka Gunshot Treaty) and formally by the Williams Treaties, signed in 1923. Objects recovered by local mill-owners, the Milne family, in the 1870s give evidence of a village within the boundaries of the present Milne Conservation Area. European settlement in Markham first began in 1794. The Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada,

(in office 1791–1796), named the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Markham, north of the town of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

(now

), after his friend William Markham, then

. William Berczy first surveyed Markham as a township in 1793, and in 1794 led 75 German families (including the Ramers, Reesors, Wheters, Burkholders, Bunkers, Wicks and Lewis) from

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

to an area of Markham now known as German Mills. Each family was granted of land; however the lack of roads in the region led many to settle in

(present-day Toronto) and Niagara. German Mills later became a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. Between 1803 and 1812 another attempt at settling the region was made. The largest group of settlers were

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

, most of them

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

s. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers settled the region and founded Reesorville, named after the Mennonite settler Joseph Reesor. In 1825 Reesorville was renamed to Markham and took the name of the unincorporated

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

(see

Markham Village, Ontario Markham Village (Canada 2006 Census, 2006 population 6,090) is the historic town centre of Markham, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, Canada. Originally settled in 1825, the village, which was originally named Reesorville (in reference to the Peter Rees ...

). By 1830, many Irish,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and English families began immigrating to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

and settling in Markham. Markham's early years blended the rigours of the

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

with the development of agriculture-based industries. The township's many rivers and streams soon supported water-powered saws and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s and later wooden mills. With improved transportation routes, such as the construction of

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

in the 1800s, along with the growing population, urbanization increased. In 1842 the township population had reached 5,698; were under cultivation (second highest in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

), and the township had eleven gristmills and twenty-four sawmills. In 1846 Smith's ''Canadian Gazetteer'' indicated a population of about 300, mostly Canadians, Pennsylvanian Dutch (actually Pennsylvania Deitsch or German), other Germans, Americans, Irish and a few from Britain. There were two churches with a third being built. There were tradesmen of various types, a grist mill, an oatmill mill, five stores, a distillery and a threshing-machine maker. There were eleven grist and twenty-four saw mills in the surrounding township. In 1850 the first form of structured municipal government formed in Markham. Main Street Unionville 2

By 1857 most of the township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like Thornhill, Unionville and Markham greatly expanded. In 1851 Markham Village "was a considerable village, containing between eight and nine hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the Rouge River. It contains two grist mills ... a woollen factory, oatmeal mill, barley mill and distillery, foundry, two tanneries, brewery, etc., a temperance hall and four churches... ." In 1871, with a township population of 8,152, the Toronto and Nipissing Railway built the first rail line to Markham Village and Unionville, which is still used today by the

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

commuter services. In 1971 Markham was incorporated as a town, as its population skyrocketed due to

from Toronto. In 1976 Markham's population was approximately 56,000. Since that time, the population has more than quintupled, with explosive growth in new subdivisions. Much of Markham's

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

has disappeared, but some still remains north of

Major Mackenzie Drive Major Mackenzie Drive, often shortened to Major Mac, is a major east-west arterial road in southern York Region, Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto. It is a York regional road, numbered as York Regional Road 25, and passes through the three ...

. Controversy over the development of the environmentally-sensitive

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an Ecology, ecologically important Geology, geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon, Ontario, Caledon and Rice Lake (Ontario ...

will likely curb development north of Major Mackenzie Drive and by Rouge National Urban Park east of Reesor Road between Major Mackenzie Drive to Steeles Avenue East to the south. Markham-suburbs id

Since the 1980s Markham has been recognized as a suburb of Toronto. the city comprises six major communities: Berczy Village, Cornell, Markham Village, Milliken, Thornhill and Unionville. Many high-tech companies have established

head office Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

s in Markham, attracted by the relative abundance of land, low tax-rates and good transportation routes.

Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational designer, developer, manufacturer, and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data cen ...

Canada, ATI Technologies (now known as AMD Graphics Product Group), IBM Canada, Motorola Canada, Honeywell Canada and many other well-known companies have chosen Markham as their home in Canada. The city has accordingly started branding itself as Canada's "High-Tech Capital". The province of Ontario has erected a historical plaque in front of the

Markham Museum Markham Museum (originally founded as The Markham District Historical Museum) is a open-air museum located in Markham, Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, ...

to commemorate the founding of Markham's role in Ontario's heritage. Town council voted on May 29, 2012, to change Markham's legal designation from "town" to "city"; according to Councillor Alex Chiu, who introduced the motion, the change of designation merely reflects the fact that many people already think of Markham as a city. Some residents objected to the change because it will involve unknown costs without any demonstrated benefits. The designation officially took effect on July 1.

Geography

Markham covers and Markham's city centre is at . It is bounded by five municipalities; in the west is

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

with the boundary along Yonge Street between

Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Running from Appleby Line in Milton in the west to the Scarborough-Pickering Townline in the east, where it continue ...

and Highway 7 and Richmond Hill with the boundary along Highway 7 from Yonge Street to Highway 404 and at Highway 404 from Highway 7 to 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road. In the south, it borders Toronto with the boundary along Steeles Avenue. In the north it borders

Whitchurch–Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...

with the boundary from Highway 404 to York-Durham Line between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road. In the east it borders Pickering along York-Durham Line.

Topography

Markham's average altitude is at and in general consists of gently rolling hills. The city is intersected by two rivers; the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

and Rouge River, as well as their tributaries. To the north is the Oak Ridges Moraine, which further elevates the elevation towards the north.

Climate

Markham borders and shares the same climate as Toronto. On an average day, Markham is generally cooler than in

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

. It has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb'') and features warm, humid summers with rainfall occurring from May to October and cold, snowy winters. The highest temperature recorded was on August 8, 2001, during the eastern North America heat wave and the lowest temperature recorded was on January 16, 1994, during the 1994 North American cold wave.

Neighbourhoods

Markham is made up of many original 19th-century communities, each with a distinctive character. Many of these, despite being technically suburban districts today, are still signed with official "city limits" signs on major roads: * Almira * Angus Glen * Armadale * Bayview Glen * Berczy Village * Box Grove * Brown's Corners * Bullock * Buttonville *

Cachet In philately, a cachet () is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a Cancellation (mail), cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are both ...

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

* Cathedraltown * Cedar Grove * Cedarwood * Cornell * Crosby *

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

* Downtown Markham * Dickson's Hill * German Mills * Greensborough * Hagerman's Corners * Langstaff * Legacy * Locust Hill * Markham Village * Middlefield * Milliken Mills * Milnesville *

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

* Mount Joy * Quantztown * Raymerville – Markville East * Rouge Fairways * Sherwood – Amber Glen * South Unionville * Thornhill * Underwood, Ontario * Unionville * Uptown Markham * Victoria Square * Vinegar Hill * Wismer Commons Thornhill and Unionville are popularly seen as being separate communities. Thornhill straddles the Markham-Vaughan municipal boundary (portions of it in both municipalities). Unionville is a single community with three sub-communities: * Original Unionville is along Highway 7 and Kennedy Road * South Unionville is a newer residential community (beginning from the 1990s onwards) south of Highway 7 to Highway 407 and from McCowan to Kennedy Road * Upper Unionville is a new residential development built on the northeast corner of 16th Avenue and Kennedy Road

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Markham had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Immigrants made up 58% of the population of Markham in the 2021 census. Top countries of origin for the immigrant population were

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(33.8%, excluding 16.4% from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(7.2%),

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(6.4%),

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(3.6%),

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(3.5%),

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(2.7%),

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(1.8%),

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

(1.8%),

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

(1.6).

Ethnicity

In the 2021 census, the most reported ethnocultural background was Chinese (47.9%), followed by European (17.7%),

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

(17.6%),

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(3.1%),

West Asian West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

(2.9%), Filipino (2.7%),

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

(1.3%),

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

(1.0%),

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

(0.8%), and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n (0.7%). The most common ethnic or cultural origins as per the 2021 census are as follows: Chinese (43.3%), Indian (7.0%), Canadian (4.0%), English (3.8%), Hong Konger (3.7%), Sri Lankan (3.3%), Tamil (3.1%), Irish (3.1%), Scottish (3.1%), Filipino (2.9%), Italian (2.8%), Pakistani (2.1%), and Iranian (2.0%).

Religion

In 2021, 40.8% of the population did not identify with a particular religion. The most reported religions were

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(35.1%),

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(9.2%),

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(7.9%),

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(4.0%),

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(1.4%), and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(1.1%).

Language

Government

City Council

Markham City Council consists of Frank Scarpitti as mayor, four regional councillors and eight ward councillors each representing one of the city's eight wards. Scarpitti replaced Don Cousens, a former Progressive Conservative MPP for Markham and a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church minister. The community elects the mayor and four regional councillors to represent the City of Markham at the regional level. The municipality pays the Councillors for their services, but in many municipalities, members of council usually serve part-time and work at other jobs. Residents elected the current members of council to a four-year term of office, in accordance with standards set by the province. The selection of members for the offices of mayor and regional councillors are made town-wide, while ward councillors are elected by individual ward.

Markham Civic Centre

The city council is at the Markham Civic Centre at the intersection of York Regional Road 7 and

Warden Avenue A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically iden ...

. The site of the previous offices on Woodbine Avenue has been redeveloped for commercial uses. The historic town hall on Main Street is now a restored office building. The Mayor's Youth Task Force was created to discuss issues facing young people in the city and to plan and publicize events. Its primary purpose is to encourage youth participation within the community.

Elections

Municipal elections are held every four years in Ontario. The most recent election took place in October, 2022, and the next is scheduled for October, 2026. The links listed below provide the results of recent election results: *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

By-laws

The city is permitted to create and enforce by-laws upon residents on various matters affecting the town. The by-laws are generally enforced by City By-Law enforcement officers, but they may involve

York Regional Police The York Regional Police (YRP; ) is the police service of the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municipalities which amalgamated into York Region at the time. The ...

if violations are deemed too dangerous for the officers to handle. In addition the by-laws can be linked to various provincial acts and enforced by the town. Violation of by-laws is subject to fines of up to $20,000 CAD. The by-laws of Markham include: ToogoodPond3

* Animal Control (see Dog Owners' Liability Act of Ontario) * Construction Permits * Cannabis * Driveway Extensions * Fencing and Swimming Pools * Heritage Conservation (see

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Canadian Province of Ontario, as being of cultural heritage ...

) * Home-Based Businesses * Noise * Parking * Property Standards * Registration of Basement Apartments and Second Suites * Sewers * Site Alteration * Waste Collection * Water Use

City services

Courts and police

There are no courts in Markham, but the city is served by an

Ontario Court of Justice The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court court of record, of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and prov ...

in Newmarket, as well as an Ontario Small Claims court in Richmond Hill. There are also served by a Provincial Offence Court in Richmond Hill. The

Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode H ...

is in Toronto, while the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

is in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario. Policing is provided by

at a station (5 District) at the corner of McCowan Road and Carlton Road and Highway 7. Highway 404, Highway 407 and parts of Highway 48 are patrolled by the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police se ...

is responsible for patrol on Steeles from Yonge Street to the York—Durham Line.

Fire

Markham Fire and Emergency Services was established in 1970 as Markham Fire Department and replaced various local volunteer fire units. Nine fire stations serve Markham.

Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport Buttonville Municipal Airport or Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport was a medium-sized airport in the neighbourhood of Buttonville in Markham, Ontario, Canada, north of Downtown Toronto, which closed in November 2023. It was operated by ...

is also served by Markham's Fire service.

Hospitals

Markham Stouffville Hospital in the city's far eastern end is Markham's main healthcare facility, located at the intersection of Highway 7 and 9th Line (407 and Donald Cousens Parkway). Markham is also home to Shouldice Hospital, one of the world's premier facilities for people suffering from

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

s. For those living near Steeles, they sometimes will be able to receive treatment at The Scarborough Hospital Birchmount Campus in Toronto/

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

North York General Hospital North York General Hospital (NYGH) is a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Primarily serving the North York district, as well as southern York Region, it offers acute care, ambulatory and long-term services at multiple sites. It is o ...

also serves for 24/7 care, serving

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

and the lower Markham area.

Garbage collection

Garbage collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable ...

is provided by Miller Waste Systems since the company's founding in 1961.

Education

Post-secondary

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccala ...

has a campus in Markham, at Highway 7 and the 404 near Woodbine Avenue/Leslie Street, in the York Region business district. This location opened in 2005, offering full and part-time programs in business, marketing and tourism, and also the college's departments of Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology Services. Since 2011 the campus has also housed the

Confucius Institute Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs of the state of China. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilita ...

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

's Markham Campus in Downtown Markham opened in September 2024. It serves the entirety of

and upper

Primary and secondary schools

Markham has a number of both

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and Catholic

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s. All have consistently scored high on standardized tests and have some of the highest rate of graduates attending universities. The York Region District School Board operates secular English public schools. The York Catholic District School Board operates English Catholic schools. The '' Conseil scolaire Viamonde'' operates secular French schools, and the ''

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (also referred to as Csc MonAvenir) is a French-language Catholic school board that manages elementary and secondary French schools in South-Central Ontario. The school board operates 47 elementary schools, 12 ...

'' operates Catholic French schools. * York Region District School Board ** Bill Crothers Secondary School ** Bill Hogarth Secondary School **

Bur Oak Secondary School Bur Oak Secondary School (BOSS) is a public secondary school in Markham, Ontario, Canada established in 2007, and is part of the York Region District School Board. The school was named after the road which it is built on, which in turn is named ...

** Markham District High School **

Markville Secondary School Markville Secondary School (commonly known as MSS or Markville) is a public high school located in the community of Unionville, Ontario, Unionville within the city of Markham, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is one of 33 high schools adminis ...

** Middlefield Collegiate Institute ** Milliken Mills High School ** Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School ** Thornhill Secondary School ** Thornlea Secondary School ** Unionville High School * York Catholic District School Board ** St. Brother André Catholic High School ** St. Augustine Catholic High School ** St. Robert Catholic High School ** Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy

Economy

In the 19th century Markham had a vibrant, independent community with mills, distilleries and breweries around the intersection of Highway 7 and Markham Road. The Thomas Speight Wagon Works exported products (wagons, horsecars) around the world, and Markham had a reputation as being more active than York (the former name for Toronto) early on. Most of these industries disappeared leaving farming as the main source of business. Light industries and businesses began to move into Markham in the 1980s attracted by land and lower taxes. Today, it claims to be "Canada's Hi-Tech Capital" with a number of key companies in the area, such as IBM, Motorola, Toshiba,

, Apple, Genesis Microchip, and is home to the head office of graphics card producer

ATI Technologies ATI Technologies Inc. was a Canadian semiconductor industry, semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985, the company listed pub ...

(in 2006 merged with AMD). Over 1,100 technology and life science companies have offices in Markham, employing over one fifth of the total workforce. In 2014, the top five employers in the city in order were IBM Canada, the City of Markham, TD Waterhouse Inc., Markham Stouffville Hospital and AMD Technologies Inc. International Franchise Inc., which owns brands including Swensen's and Yogen Früz and several others, has its headquarters in Markham. General Motors Canada Canadian Technical Centre has been located in Markham since 2017, in the building which was formerly the Canadian head office of

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

from 1985 to 2015.

Performing arts

Markham is home to several locally oriented performing arts groups: * Kindred Spirits Orchestra * Markham Little Theatre * Markham Youth Theatre * Unionville Theatre Company * Markham Concert Band A key arts venue is the 'Markham Theatre For Performing Arts', at the Markham Civic Centre at Highway 7 and Warden Avenue. The facility is owned by the City of Markham and operates under the city's Culture Department.

Culture

Until the 1970s, Markham was mostly farmland and marsh, as reflected in events like the Markham Fair. Markham has several theatres, Markham Little Theatre at the

, the ''Markham Youth Theatre'', and the Markham Theatre. Varley Art Gallery Unionville

The Varley Art Gallery is the city of Markham's art museum. The gallery hosts rotating exhibits, public events, art camps and art classes, among other opportunities for citizens to get involved in the community and learn about local and

Canadian art Canadian art refers to the visual arts, visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of ...

. The Markham Public Library system has eight branches. Some branches offer unique digital tools such as a

Digital Media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

lab with

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

s software, a recording studio with

video editing Video editing is the post-production and arrangement of video shots. To showcase excellent video editing to the public, video editors must be reasonable and ensure they have a thorough understanding of film, television, and other sorts of videog ...

audio editing software Audio editing software is any software or computer program which allows editing and generating audio data. Audio editing software can be implemented completely or partly as a library, as a computer application, as a web application, or as a loa ...

and a green screen, and a maker space with

3D printer 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

, and laser cutters. With a library card, user can take free online courses, borrow household tools and equipment and educational toys.

Sports

Notable sporting events held by Markham include: * 2018 BWF World Junior Championships * 2017 ITTF Women's World Cup

Community centres and recreational facilities

Recreation Department runs programs in these facilities and maintained by the city's Operations Department: * Aaniin Community Centre – library, indoor pool, multi-purpose rooms * Angus Glen Community Centre – library, tennis courts, indoor pool * Armadale Community Centre – multi-purpose rooms, outdoor tennis courts * Centennial Community Centre – multi-purpose rooms, indoor ice rink, indoor pool, squash courts, gym * Cornell Community Centre – library, indoor pool, multi-purpose rooms, gym, indoor track, fitness centre * Crosby Community Centre – indoor ice rink, multi-purpose rooms * Markham Pan Am Centre – indoor pools, gym, fitness centre * Markham Village Community Centre – library, indoor ice rink * Milliken Mills Community Centre – library, indoor pool, multi-purpose rooms, indoor ice rink * Mount Joy Community Centre – outdoor soccer pitches, indoor ice rink, multi-purpose rooms * R.J. Clatworthy Community Centre – indoor ice rink, multi-purpose rooms * Rouge River Community Centre – multi-purpose rooms, outdoor pool * Thornhill Community Centre – indoor ice rink, multi-purpose rooms, indoor track, library, squash court, gym

Parks and pathways

Markham has scenic pathways running over 22 km over its region. These pathways include 12 bridges allowing walkers, joggers, and cyclists to make use and enjoy the sights it has to offer. Markham's green space includes woodlots, ravines, and valleys that are not only enjoyable to its residents, but are important for the continued growth of the region's plants and animals. These natural spaces are the habitats for rare plant and insect species, offering food and homes essential for the survival of different native insects and birds. Parks and pathways are maintained by the city's Operations Department. Berczy village markham park

Attractions

Markham has retained its historic past in part of the town. Here a just few places of interest: * Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery * Heintzman House – Home of Colonel George Crookshank, Sam Francis and Charles Heintzman of Heintzman & Co., the piano manufacturer. *

* Markham Village * Markham Heritage Estates – a unique, specially designed heritage subdivision owned by the City of Markham
Reesor Farm Market
* Cathedral of the Transfiguration * Thornhill village Heritage streets: * Main Street Markham (Markham Road/Highway 48) *

Main Street Unionville Main Street Unionville is a collector route that runs through the historical suburban community of Unionville, Ontario, Unionville, in Markham, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, Canada. Like most other Main Streets, the street serves as an important roa ...

( Kennedy Road/Highway 7) There are still farms operating in the northern reaches of the town, but there are a few 'theme' farms in other parts of Markham: * Galten Farms * Forsythe Family Farms * Adventure Valley Markham's heritage railway stations are either an active station or converted to other uses: * Markham GO Station – built in 1871 by Toronto and Nipissing Railway and last used by CN Rail in the 1990s and restored in 2000 as active GO station and community use * Locust Hill Station – built in 1936 in

Locust Hill, Ontario Locust Hill is a historic community of Markham, Ontario centred on Ontario Highway 7, Hwy. 7 and the Canadian Pacific Railway and within the boundaries of the future national Rouge Park. History Locust Hill was first settled about 1799 by Samue ...

and last used by the CPR in 1969; relocated in 1983 to the grounds of the Markham Museum; replaced earlier station built in the late 19th century for the Ontario and Quebec Railway and burned down in 1935. * Unionville Station – built in 1871 by the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, later by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

and by

from 1982 to 1991; it was sold to the city in 1989 and restored as a community centre within the historic Unionville Main Street area. The building features classic Canadian Railway Style found in Markham and (old) Unionville Stations.

Annual events

Events taking place annually include the Night It Up! Night Market, Taste of Asia Festival, Tony Roman Memorial Hockey Tournament, Markham Youth Week, Unionville Festival, Markham Village Music Festival, Markham Jazz Festival, Milliken Mills Children's Festival, Markham Ribfest & Music Festival, Doors Open Markham, Thornhill Village Festival, Markham Fair, Olde Tyme Christmas Unionville, Markham Santa Claus Parade and Markham Festival of Lights.

Shopping

Markham is home to several large malls of 100+ stores. These include: * CF Markville (160+ stores) * First Markham Place (180 stores) and Woodside Power Centre * King Square Shopping Mall (500+ mini-shops) * Langham Square (700 stores) * Pacific Mall (450 mini-shops) There are also a lot of higher-profile malls in nearby Toronto, and elsewhere in York Region.

East Asian businesses

Many shopping centres in Markham are also ethnically Chinese and East Asian-oriented. This is a reflection of Markham's large

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, particularly

Chinese Canadian Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of ...

, population making it an important Chinese community in the GTA. They carry a wide variety of traditional Chinese products, apparel, and foods. On Highway 7, between Woodbine and Warden Avenues, is First Markham Place, containing numerous shops and restaurants; this is several kilometres east of Richmond Hill's Chinese malls. Further east along Highway 7 is an older plaza is at the southwest quadrant with the intersection with Kennedy Road. Pacific Mall is the most well-known Chinese mall in Markham, at Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East, which, combined with neighbouring Market Village (now closed) and Splendid China Mall, formed the second largest Chinese shopping area in North America, after the

Golden Village Golden Village is a cinema operator in Singapore. It also is a partner of Orange Sky Golden Harvest, a Hong Kong-based film production company. Established in 1992 as a joint venture between Golden Harvest and Village Roadshow, the company ope ...

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

. In close proximity, at Steeles Avenue and Warden Avenue, there is the New Century Plaza mall and a half-block away there is a plaza of Chinese shops anchored by a

T & T Supermarket T&T Supermarket () is a Canadian Asian supermarket chain founded in Vancouver in 1993 by Jack and Cindy Lee who was the founding CEO. Cindy's eldest daughter Tina Lee succeeded her mother in 2014. In 2009, T&T Supermarket was acquired by Lobla ...

. There are also some smaller shopping centres in Markham, such as: * Albion Mall * Alderland Centre * Denison Centre * J-Town * Markham Town Square * Metro Square * Peachtree Centre * New Kennedy Square * The Shops on Steeles and 404 * Thornhill Square Shopping Centre

Local media

* ''Markham Review'' – local monthly newspaper * ''TLM The Local Magazine'' – local satire & lifestyle magazine * '' Markham Economist and Sun'' – community paper owned by

Metroland Media Group Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than ...

York Region site; available online only after print version ceased September 15, 2023 * ''The Liberal'' – serving Thornhill and Richmond Hill – community paper owned by

* ''The York Region Business Times'' – business news * ''York Region Media Group'' – Online news which includes some Metroland Media papers * ''North of the City'' – magazine for York Region * Rogers Cable 10 – community TV station for York Region, owned by

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties. Operations Current television brands owned by Rogers include two television sys ...

* ''Markham News24' – Hyper-local, video-based news website focusing on municipal politics, crime, lifestyle and business features * ''Sing Tao Daily'' – an ethnic Chinese newspaper that serves the

Transportation

Roads

Road network

Markham's road network is based on the concession system. In 1801, Markham was divided into 10 concessions, with a north–south road separating each one. The concessions were further divided by a number of east–west sideroads. This formed a

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

road network, with an intersection occurring approximately every two kilometers. Even though some of these roads have been realigned, Markham's present road network for the most part still follows the original grid plan. Markham's concession (north–south) arterial roads are listed below, ordered from west to east (former numbers in parentheses): *

** Boundary with the City of Vaughan *

Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...

* Leslie Street * Woodbine Avenue * Warden Avenue (5th Concession Road) * Kennedy Road (6th Concession Road) * McCowan Road (7th Concession Road) * Markham Road (8th Concession Road) ** Continues as Highway 48 north of Major Mackenzie Drive * Ninth Line (9th Concession Road) * Donald Cousens Parkway / Markham By-pass ** Signed as a regular road south of Box Grove By-pass * Reesor Road (10th Concession Road) * Eleventh Line (11th Concession Road) * York-Durham Line ** Boundary with the City of Pickering Reesor Road and Eleventh Line are the only north–south roads that are not fully regional roads. These two roads are rural routes with very few homes and minimal traffic. Eleventh Line ends just south of Highway 407 with the road rerouted (old section fenced off with partial gravel bed) to intersect with York-Durham Line. Areas east of Donald Cousens Boulevard either serve new residential developments or are largely rural and/or agricultural. Markham's sideroad (east–west) arterials are listed below, ordered from south to north (former numbers in parentheses): *

** Original Scarborough Townline, boundary with the

City of Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

* 14th Avenue ** Continues west of Warden Avenue as Alden Road *** Continues west of Rodick Road as Esna Park Drive **** Continues west of Woodbine Avenue as John Street * Regional Road 7 (formerly 15th Avenue) ** Continues as Highway 7 east of Reesor Road * 16th Avenue * Major Mackenzie Drive East (17th Avenue) * Elgin Mills Road East (18th Avenue) ** Signed as a standard road east of Victoria Square Boulevard * 19th Avenue ** Boundary with the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville

Important thoroughfares

Major highways that pass through Markham include King's Highway 404 (from Toronto to just south of Lake Simcoe), which marks Markham's boundary with the City of Richmond Hill, and the

407 ETR King's Highway 407, commonly referred to as Highway 407 and colloquially as the "four-oh-seven", is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Comprising a tolled privately leased segment and a publicly owned segment, the route ...

(more commonly known as Highway 407), a privately owned

toll highway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

that passes north of Toronto and connects Markham with Burlington and

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

. Highway 404 is one of the most important routes used for travel to and from the City of Toronto. Highway 407 primarily serves Markham from

to York-Durham Line. The highway connects Markham with

Clarington Clarington (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 101,427) is a lower-tier municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1973 as the town of Newcastle with the merging of the town of Bowmanville, the ...

to the east, and Burlington to the west. One of the most heavily travelled arterial roads in Markham is Regional Road 7, a major east–west artery. This road is more commonly referred to as Highway 7, a name which comes from the time when it used to be a

provincial highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a state or ...

. The road is still officially Highway 7 east of Reesor Road. Other major east–west routes include 16th Avenue,

Major MacKenzie Drive Major Mackenzie Drive, often shortened to Major Mac, is a major east-west arterial road in southern York Region, Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto. It is a York regional road, numbered as York Regional Road 25, and passes through the three ...

, the combination of John Street/Esna Park Drive/14th Avenue, and

which forms Markham's southern boundary with Toronto.

Rail

The

Stouffville line, a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

line stretching from Lincolnville to downtown Toronto, provides passenger rail service in Markham. It operates only at rush hour and uses tracks owned by

Metrolinx Metrolinx is a transportation agency in Ontario, Canada. It is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Au ...

, the provincial transit agency. Five stations on the Stouffville line serve Markham, of which 4 are within the municipal borders. In 2015, Metrolinx announced that the Stouffville Line would get an expansion in service, bringing all day both directional trains from

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

to Unionville GO Station. Markham's section of this GO line also came under the spotlight in 2015 as

Mayor John Tory's announced SMART Track plan for rapid transit expansion in Toronto includes the rail spur between Union Station and the Unionville GO. On April 8, 2019, GO Transit added ten midday train trips to Mount Joy GO Station, replacing the need for passengers to change to buses at Unionville GO.

Public transit

York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva ...

(YRT) connects Markham with surrounding municipalities in York Region, and was created in 2001 from the merger of

Markham Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bu ...

Richmond Hill Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bu ...

Newmarket Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Regional Municipality, Ontario, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush ho ...

and Vaughan Transit. YRT to connects to the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

(TTC) subway system by way of Viva bus rapid transit from Finch station along Yonge Street, and Don Mills station through Unionville and on to Markville Mall. YRT has two major terminals in Markham: Unionville GO Terminal and the new Cornell Terminal, replacing Markham Stouffville Hospital Bus Terminal. The TTC also provides service in Markham on several north–south routes, such as

, Birchmount Road, McCowan Road and Markham Road. These routes charge riders a double fare if they are travelling across the Steeles border.

provides train service on the old trackbed of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, which connects Markham with downtown Toronto on the Stouffville commuter rail service. The line has stops at several stations in Markham, namely Unionville GO Station, Centennial GO Station, Markham GO Station, and Mount Joy GO Station. The Richmond Hill commuter rail line provides service to the Langstaff GO Station, which straddles Markham and Richmond Hill but is used primarily by residents of west-central Markham and southern Richmond Hill.

Air

There is presently a private

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport;

Markham Airport Markham Airport or Toronto/Markham Airport is a private aerodrome operating north of Markham, Ontario, Canada near Toronto. The airport was founded in 1965 by two former Polish air force pilots and is operated by Markham Airport Inc. The airp ...

or Toronto/Markham Airport, (TC LID: CNU8), just north of Markham, north of Elgin Mills Road. The airport is owned and operated by Markham Airport Inc. and owned by a numbered Ontario company owned by the Thomson family of Toronto, rather than the

Greater Toronto Airports Authority The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA; ) is a Canadian non-profit organization that operates Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The airport is Canada's largest, that handled 49.5 million passengers in 20 ...

(GTAA). The airport has a runway for small and private aircraft only (with night flying capabilities). The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Gliding Program formerly used the airport for glider operations in the spring and fall. Buttonville Municipal Airport was a larger general aviation airport located near Highway 404 and 16th Avenue in the Buttonville neighbourhood that was operated by the GTAA. It closed in November 2023.

Notable people

Partner Cities

Cultural collaboration cities

Eabametoong First Nation Eabametoong, also known as Fort Hope or Eabamet Lake by Canada Post, is an Ojibwe First Nations band government in Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. Located on the shore of Eabamet Lake in the Albany River system, the community is located approxi ...

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

, Canada (January 1, 2017)

Sister cities

Source: *

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany (October 2001) * Cary,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States (April 2002) *

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

, China (October 7, 2003)

Friendship cities

* Huadu,

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China (1998) *

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, China (July 22, 2012) *

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

, China (September 30, 2012) *

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

, China (November 24, 2012) *

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

, China (December 3, 2012) *

Ganzhou Ganzhou (), alternately romanized as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jiangxi province, China, bordering Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, and Hunan to the west. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong District. His ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

, China (September 20, 2013) *

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

, China (October 7, 2013) *

Meizhou Meizhou ( zh, t=梅州, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xing ...

, China (December 10, 2013) *

Jiangmen Jiangmen ( zh, c=江门), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong provinces of China, Province in southern China. It consists of three urban distri ...

, China (April 23, 2014) * Nanhai,

, China (June 13, 2014) *

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu (; ) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early twentieth century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing ...

, Northern Province, Sri Lanka (January 14, 2017)

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Populated places established in 1794 1794 establishments in the British Empire