| Town of Markham | |||
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| Markham Civic Centre | |||
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| Motto: Leading While Remembering | |||
| Map showing Markham's location in York Region | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Ontario | ||
| Regional Municipality | York Region | ||
| Communities |
List of subdivisions
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| Settled | 1794 | ||
| Incorporated | 1972 (town) | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Frank Scarpitti | ||
| • Deputy Mayor | Jack Heath | ||
| • Regional Councillors | Jim Jones, Joe Li, Gordon Landon | ||
| • MPs |
List of MPs
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| • MPPs |
List of MPPs
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| Area | |||
| • Total | 212.47 km2 (82 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 200 m (656 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| • Total | 261,573 (Ranked 16th) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Area code(s) | 905, 289 | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | CA-ON | ||
| Website | www.markham.ca | ||
Markham ( /ˈmɑrkəm/ Mark-Am) is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census.[1] The town is the fourth largest community within Greater Toronto after Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton.
The town gained its name from the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, who named the area after his friend, William Markham, the Archbishop of York at the time. 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 initially planning to settle in New York, disputes over finances and land tenure there would eventually lead to Berczy to negotiate with Simcoe for 64,000 acres (260 km2) in Markham Township.[2] Throughout much of Markham's history, the community has been described as an agricultural community. A turn towards a more urbanized community within the township began after World War II when the township had began to feel the effects of urban encroachment from Toronto. The completion of Highway 404 during the mid 1970s further accelerated urban development in Markham.[2]
While historically the town was mainly an agricultural community, Markham today is mainly driven by its tertiary industry. Business services is currently the number one employer in Markham with nearly 22% of its labour force employed in it.[3] The town also currently has over 800 technology and life sciences companies, with IBM being the town's largest employer.[4][5] A number of multinational companies also have their Canadian headquarters located in Markham including Advanced Micro Devices, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Apple Inc., Avaya, IBM, Motorola and Toshiba.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Markham was first surveyed as a township in 1793 by William Berczy, who in 1794 led 75 German families from Upstate New York to an area of Markham now known as German Mills.[13] Each family was granted 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land; however due lack to roads in the region many opted to settle in York (now Toronto) and Niagara. German Mills later became a ghost town. Between 1803 to 1812, another attempt at settling in the region was made. The largest group of settlers were Pennsylvania Dutch, most of whom were Mennonites. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers were able to settle the region and founded Reesorville, named after the Mennonite settler Joseph Reesor.[14] In 1825, Reesorville was renamed to Markham having taken the name of the unincorporated village (see Markham Village, Ontario). By 1830, a large influx of Irish, Scottish and English families began immigrating to Upper Canada, many settling in Markham.[15] Markham's early years blended the rigours of homesteading with the development of agriculture-based industries. The many rivers and streams in the township soon supported water-powered saw and gristmills and later wooden mills. With improved transportation routes, such as the construction of Yonge Street in the 1800s, along with the growing population, urbanization increased. In 1842 the township population was 5,698; 29,005 acres (117.38 km2) were under cultivation (second highest in the province), and the township had eleven gristmills and twenty-four sawmills.[16] By 1850, the first form of structured municipal government formed in Markham.[17] By 1857, most of the township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like Thornhill, Unionville, and Markham greatly expanded.[18] 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... ."[19] In 1871, with a township population of 8,152,[20] the Toronto and Nipissing Railway built the first rail line to Markham Village and Unionville, which is still used today by the GO Transit commuter services. In 1972, Markham was incorporated as a town in its population skyrocketted due to urban sprawl 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 has now disappeared, but is still found north of Major MacKenzie Drive. Controversy over the development of the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine will likely curb development north of Major MacKenzie Drive. As of 2006, Markham comprises six major communities, which include Buttonville, Cornell, Markham Village, Milliken, Thornhill, and Unionville. Since the 1980s, the town has been recognized as a suburb of Toronto. Many high-tech companies have head offices located in Markham for the relative abundance of land, low tax rates and good transportation routes. Broadcom Canada, ATI Technologies (now known as AMD Graphics Product Group), IBM Canada, Apple Computer Canada, Motorola Canada and many other well-known companies have chosen Markham as their home in Canada. Hence, the town has been branding itself as Canada's "High-Tech Capital". An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected in front of the Markham Museum by the province to commemorate the founding of Markham's role in Ontario's heritage.[21]
Markham covers an area of 212.47 km2 (82.04 sq mi) and Markham's Town Centre is at . It is bounded by 5 municipalities; in the west is Vaughan with the boundary along Yonge Street between Steeles Avenue 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 is borders Whitchurch–Stouffville with the boundary from Highway 404 to York-Durham Line between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road. In the East it borders Pickering along the York-Durham Line.
Markham's average altitude is at 200 m (660 ft) and in general consists of gently rolling hills. The town is intersected by two rivers; the Don River and Rouge River, as well as their tributaries. To the north is the Oak Ridges Moraine, which further elevates the elevation towards the north.
Due to Markham bordering Toronto, Markham shares the same climate as Toronto. On an average day, Markham is generally 1 to 2 °C (1.8 to 3.6 °F) cooler than in downtown Toronto
| Climate data for Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
26 (79) |
31.7 (89.1) |
33.5 (92.3) |
36.6 (97.9) |
37.2 (99.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
27.1 (80.8) |
22.1 (71.8) |
18 (64) |
37.8 (100.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
4.4 (39.9) |
11.6 (52.9) |
19.3 (66.7) |
24.5 (76.1) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14 (57) |
6.5 (43.7) |
0.8 (33.4) |
12.68 (54.82) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.9 (21.4) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
18.4 (65.1) |
20.9 (69.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
15 (59) |
8.5 (47.3) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
7.40 (45.32) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −10.3 (13.5) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
0.9 (33.6) |
6.8 (44.2) |
12.2 (54.0) |
14.9 (58.8) |
13.7 (56.7) |
9.2 (48.6) |
3 (37) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
2.12 (35.81) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −35.2 (−31.4) |
−25.7 (−14.3) |
−22 (−8) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
1.9 (35.4) |
6.9 (44.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
−2 (28) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−20.9 (−5.6) |
−25.3 (−13.5) |
−35.2 (−31.4) |
| Wind chill | −42.6 | −37.4 | −33.5 | −18.6 | −5.1 | 0.2 | 6 | 2.2 | −4.2 | −8.8 | −23.9 | −36.6 | −42.6 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 66 (2.6) |
46 (1.81) |
54 (2.13) |
74 (2.91) |
77 (3.03) |
79 (3.11) |
82 (3.23) |
85 (3.35) |
85 (3.35) |
68 (2.68) |
79 (3.11) |
63 (2.48) |
858 (33.78) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 29 (1.14) |
22 (0.87) |
31 (1.22) |
68 (2.68) |
77 (3.03) |
79 (3.11) |
82 (3.23) |
85 (3.35) |
85 (3.35) |
66 (2.6) |
66 (2.6) |
30 (1.18) |
720 (28.35) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 40 (15.7) |
26 (10.2) |
22 (8.7) |
6 (2.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.4) |
13 (5.1) |
35 (13.8) |
143 (56.3) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 151 |
| Avg. rainy days | 6 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 114 |
| Avg. snowy days | 13 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 48 |
| Source: The Weather Network[22] | |||||||||||||
Markham is made up of many original 19th century communities (many of which, despite being technically suburban districts today, are still signed with official 'entering community' signs on major roads) and/or each with a distinctive character:
Thornhill and Unionville are popularly seen as being separate communities. Thornhill actually straddles the Markham-Vaughan town line (portions of it in both municipalities).
According to the 2006 Canadian Census Markham had 261,573 residents. This represents a 23% increase since the 2001 Census. The median household income was $79,924 with an average house value of $440,755 compared to an average of $297,479 throughout Ontario. Markham is among the most affluent municipalities in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada 2006 Census data, Markham ranks 8 among 13 Greater Toronto Area municipalities based on median household income. The ranking is:
1. Oakville $92,394
2. Vaughan $86,616
3. Milton $86,604
4. Pickering $84,595
5. Whitby $84,219
6. Ajax $81,940
7. Uxbridge $80,455
8. Markham $79,924
9. Richmond Hill $78,976
10. Burlington $74,969
11. Brampton $72,402
12. Mississauga $71,393
13. Oshawa $61,514
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1,000 |
| 1901 | 967 |
| 1911 | 909 |
| 1921 | 1,012 |
| 1931 | 1,008 |
| 1941 | 1,204 |
| 1951 | 1,606 |
| 1961 | 4,294 |
| 1971 | 36,684 |
| 1981 | 77,037 |
| 1991 | 153,811 |
| 2001 | 208,615 |
| 2006 | 261,573 |
| Ethnic Origin[24] | Population |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 63,890 |
| Canadian | 29,385 |
| English | 27,110 |
| East Indian | 19,415 |
| Scottish | 16,805 |
| Irish | 15,055 |
| Italian | 11,830 |
| Jewish | 10,105 |
| German | 7,780 |
| French | 6,345 |
46.1% of residents stated their religion as Christian, almost evenly split between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Non-Christian religions include Islam: 5.3%, Judaism: 5.3%, Hinduism: 5.7%, Buddhism: 3.4%, Sikhism: 1.1%, and 23% indicated no religion.
Markham Town Council consists of Frank Scarpitti as mayor, four regional councillors and eight ward councillors each representing one of the town's eight wards. Scarpitti replaced Don Cousens, who was a former Progressive Conservative MPP for Markham and a Presbyterian church minister. The mayor and four regional councillors are elected by the community to represent the Town of Markham at the regional level. Councillors are paid by the municipality for their services, but in many municipalities, members of council usually serve part-time and work at other jobs as well. The current members of council were elected by the residents 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.
The town council is located at the Markham Civic Centre at the intersection of York Regional Road 7 and Warden Avenue. 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 town and to plan and publicize events. Its primary purpose is to encourage youth participation within the community.
The town is permitted to create and enforce by-laws upon residents on various matters affecting the town. The by-laws are generally enforced by Town By-Law enforcement officers, but they may involve York Regional Police 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:
There are no courts in Markham, but the town is served by an Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, as well as an Ontario Small Claims court in Richmond Hill. The Ontario Court of Appeal is located in Toronto, while the Supreme Court of Canada is located in Ottawa. Policing is provided by York Regional Police 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. Toronto Police Service is responsible for patrol on Steeles from Yonge Street to the York - Durham Line.
Markham Fire and Emergency Services was established in 1970 as Markham Fire Department and replaced various local volunteer fire units. There are 8 fire stations currently serving Markham. Soon to be 9. Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport is also served by Markham's Fire service.
The main healthcare facility in the town is Markham Stouffville Hospital, located in the far eastern end. Markham is also home to Shouldice Hospital, one of the world's premier facilities for people suffering from hernias. For those living near Steeles, they sometimes will be able to receive treatment at The Scarborough Hospital Birchmount Campus in Toronto/Scarborough.
Markham has a number of both public and Catholic high schools. All have consistent high scores on standardized exams and have some of the highest rate of graduates attending universities.
Markham currently does not have any universities itself, but Seneca College has campuses at Highways 7 and 404 and at Buttonville Airport. Most high school graduates continue to post-secondary education in universities across Ontario. There are local transit services that connect to various post-secondary institutions in the Greater Toronto Area.
In the 19th century, Markham was a vibrant, independent community with distilleries and breweries around the Highway 7 and 48 intersection. The Thomas Speight Wagon Works exported products around the world, and it was said that Markham was more active than York (former name for Toronto) was early on.
Today, it claims to be "Canada's Hi-Tech Capital" with a number of key companies in the area, such as IBM, Motorola, Toshiba, Lucent, Honeywell, Apple, Genesis Microchip, and is home to the head office of graphics card producer ATI (recently merged with AMD).
Markham also maintains economic and cultural cooperation agreements with the city of Laval, Quebec, which is the second largest city in the Greater Montreal area.
Until the 1970s, Markham was mostly farmland and marsh, which is still reflected in events like the Markham Fair. Markham has several theatres, including the critically acclaimed Markham Little Theatre. and the Markham Youth Theatre.
The Markham Public Library system has 6 branches, with over 600,000 items in its collections.
Like most cities and towns in the Greater Toronto Area, Markham has a few issues it must deal with:
There is a desire by the Town to control urban sprawl by requesting higher density for new development. The town plan calls for more growth along Highway 7 and less towards the farmland to the north. A similar development in Cornell promotes the need for services to be closer to residences.
Linked to the concern of urban growth, Markham through York Region Transit (YRT) has implemented a transit system called Viva to ease the strain on the region's congested roads. Viva is similar to YRT but is used as an express bus service with the ability to change traffic signals to help reduce delays. The YRT is also planning to build a transit terminal somewhere near Cornell soon.
Markham has retained its historic past in part of the town. Here a just few places of interest:
Heritage streets preserve the old town feeling:
There are still farms operating in the northern reaches of the town, but there are a few 'theme' farms in other parts of Markham:
Markham's heritage railway stations are either an active station or converted to other uses:
Markham is home to several locally-oriented performing arts groups:
A key arts venue is the 'Markham Theatre For Performing Arts', at the Markham Civic Centre located at Highway 7 and Warden Avenue.
Events taking place annually include the 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, Thornhill Village Festival, Markham Fair, Olde Tyme Christmas Unionville, Markham Santa Claus Parade and Markham Festival of Lights.
Markham is home to several large malls of 100+ stores. These include:
There are also a lot of higher-profile malls in nearby Toronto, and elsewhere in York Region. Many shopping centres in Markham are also Asian-oriented. This is a reflection of the large Asian, particularly Chinese Canadian, population found in Markham. 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, located at Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East, which, combined with neighbouring Market Village Mall and Splendid China Tower, forms the second largest Chinese shopping area in North America, after the Golden Village in Richmond, British Columbia. In close proximity, at Steeles East 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.
There are also some smaller shopping centres in Markham, such as:
Major highways passing through Markham include Highway 404 (from Toronto to Newmarket) and Highway 407, a toll highway that passes north of Toronto and connects Markham with Vaughan, Brampton and Burlington.
Highway 407 runs parallel to Highway 7, also known as York Road 7, which is a major east-west artery suffering from congestion due to development along its route. Other major east-west routes include 16th Avenue, Major MacKenzie Drive, and Steeles Avenue which forms Markham's southern boundary with Toronto.
York Region Transit (YRT) connects Markham with surrounding municipalities in York Region, and was created in 2001 from the merger of Markham Transit, Richmond Hill Transit, Newmarket Transit and Vaughan Transit. YRT to connects to the Toronto Transit Commission (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.
The TTC also provides service in Markham on several north-south routes, such as Don Mills Road, Warden Avenue, Birchmount Road, McCowan Road and Markham Road. These routes charge riders a double fare if they are travelling across the Steeles border and most Markham residents choose to travel by car instead of public transportation.
GO Transit 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.
Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport, Canada's 11th busiest airport (Ontario's 4th busiest),[26] caters to general aviation and business commuter traffic to Ottawa and Montreal. Operators at Buttonville include:
| Richmond Hill | Whitchurch–Stouffville | |||
| Vaughan | Pickering | |||
| Markham | ||||
| Toronto |
Founder • Government • History • Mayor • Previous Mayors • York Region (portal) • Markham municipal election, 2010 • Markham Ward 3 By-election, 2009 • Markham municipal election, 2006
Angus Glen • Armadale • Berczy Village • Box Grove • Buttonville • Cachet • Cashel • Cedar Grove • Cornell • Dickson Hill • Downtown Markham • Gormley • Greensborough • Legacy • Locust Hill • Old Markham Village • Markham Centre • Milliken • Mongolia • Quantztown • Unionville • Thornhill • Underwood • Vinegar Hill • Wismer Common
Elementary: All Saints • Armadale • Ashton Meadows • Boxwood Public School • Castlemore • Central Park • Boxwood • San Lorenzo Ruiz • William Berczy
Secondary: Brother André • McGivney • Markham District • Markville • Middlefield • Milliken Mills • St. Augustine • St. Robert • Thornhill • Thornlea • Trudeau • Unionville
Post Secondary: Seneca College: Buttonville Airport Campus, Markham Campus
Athletics: Markham Waxers • Sports
Recreation: Angus Glen Golf Club • Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club • Parks
Shopping: Markville Mall • Pacific Mall • Market Village
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