Markham

Population: 328,940, Greater Toronto Area: 6.42 million (2016)
Neighbourhoods: Markham is made up of many original 19th-century communities, each with a distinctive character.
Mayor: Frank Scarpitti
Major airports: Toronto Pearson International Airport
Universities & Colleges:
- Seneca College (Markham Campus)
- York University (Markham Campus) – opens 2021

Overview of Markham

Markham is a city in the Regional Municipality of York in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 30 km northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2016 Census, Markham had a population of 328,940, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest in the Greater Toronto Area, and 16th largest in Canada.

Since the 1970s, Markham rapidly shifted from being an agricultural community to an industrialized municipality due to urban sprawl from neighbouring Toronto. Markham changed its status from town to city in 2012.

According to the 2016 census, 87% of Markham’s residents are Canadian citizens, and about 6% of residents are recent immigrants (from 2011 to 2016). Markham’s visible minorities which represent over 55.5% of the population include Chinese (45%) and South Asian (18%) people. Non-visible minorities (White Canadians) make up 22% of the population.

Economy

Markham has over 1,000 technology and life-sciences companies, with IBM as the city’s largest employer.

Several multinational companies have their Canadian headquarters in Markham, including: Honda Canada, Hyundai, Advanced Micro Devices, Johnson & Johnson, Avaya, IBM, Motorola, Oracle, Toshiba, Toyota Financial Services, Huawei, Honeywell and Scholastic Canada.

Transport

One of Markham’s biggest appeals is its easy access to highways in every direction. Major highways that pass through Markham include Highway 404 (from Toronto to just south of Lake Simcoe) and Highway 407, a toll highway that passes north of Toronto and connects Markham with Burlington and Oshawa.

For commuters, the GO Transit Stouffville line, a commuter rail line stretching from Lincolnville to downtown Toronto, provides passenger rail service in Markham. Five stations on the Stouffville line serve Markham, of which 4 are within the municipal borders.

York Region Transit (YRT) connects Markham with surrounding municipalities in York Region. YRT 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.

Arts & Culture

Markham is home to several locally oriented performing arts groups, including:

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.

Green Spaces in Markham

Markham’s park system emerged in the latter part of the 20th century as it emerged into a suburban community. Additional parks are continually added during the development of newer residential areas.

Popular parks include:

Milne Dam Conservation Park
Toogood Park
Franklin Carmichael Park
Markham Civic Centre
Crosby Memorial Park
German Mills Settlers Park

Rouge Park was a regional park that had sections within Markham managed by York Region and TRCA from 1995 to 2015. Bob Hunter Memorial Park is located in Markham and is part of the Rouge system.

The park along with sections in Toronto, as well as some parts of the Pickering Airport from Transport Canada were transferred to Parks Canada to form the Rouge National Urban Park in 2015.

Most of the Rouge National Urban Park is located in Toronto’s suburban district of Scarborough, while parts of the park are in the bordering cities of Markham and Pickering.

Since 2011, Parks Canada has been working to nationalize and nearly double the size of the original Rouge Park. Parks Canada is planning to add more trails, education and orientation centres and improved signage and interpretive panels and displays throughout the park.

Once fully established, the park will span 79.1 square kilometres (30.5 sq mi).

Neighbourhoods of Markham

Markham is made up of many original 19th-century communities, many of which showcase their own distinctive character. They include:

Almira
Angus Glen
Armadale
Bayview Glen
Berczy Village
Box Grove
Brown’s Corners
Bullock
Buttonville
Cachet
Cashel
Cathedraltown
Cedar Grove
Cedarwood
Cornell
Crosby
Dollar
Downtown Markham
Dickson’s Hill
German Mills
Greensborough
Hagerman’s Corners
Langstaff
Legacy
Locust Hill
Markham Village
Middlefield
Milliken Mills
Milnesville
Mongolia
Mount Joy
Quantztown
Raymerville – Markville East
Rouge Fairways
Sherwood – Amber Glen
South Unionville
Thornhill
Underwood, Ontario
Unionville
Uptown Markham
Victoria Square
Vinegar Hill
Wismer C

Real Estate in Markham

Current (June 2020) Markham MLS® stats indicate an average house price of $1,042,897 and 819 new listings in the last 28 days.

As of today, Markham housing data shows median days on market for a home is 14 days.

Expected to grow in population by 35% by the year 2031, Markham is seeing countless developments to support that, including some exciting master-planned communities.

Downtown Markham alone is slated to span 243 acres and include 10,000 luxury condominium units, significant retail, dining and office space, a 20,000-seat amphitheatre for concerts, athletics and community events, plus a brand-new campus for York University.

This makes Markham a major hotspot for homebuyers and investors aike, and it makes a great option for those who love the idea of a burgeoning business and innovation district.