Markham (
Mark-Am) is a
town of
York Region, located in
Southern Ontario and forms a part of the
Greater Toronto Area. Markham is regarded as the largest town, and one of the fastest growing municipalities, in Canada, having doubled its population since 1990.
The population of Markham according to the
2006 Population Census is 261,573. Within the Greater Toronto Area, Markham is the fourth-most populous municipality after
Toronto,
Mississauga, and
Brampton. Markham is considered as
Canada's High-Tech Capital and
Silicon-Valley North as it is home to various head offices for international high-tech companies such as
IBM,
Motorola,
Toshiba,
Lucent,
Sun Microsystems,
Apple,
AMEX and
ATI, which is now part of
AMD.
History
Markham was first surveyed as a
township in 1793 by
William Berczy and in 1794 he led 75 German families from upstate
New York to an area of Markham now known as German Mills. Each family was granted 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land, however due to hardships, many opted to returned to York (now Toronto) and
Niagara. The area was considered to be remote and lack of roads through the region made travel difficult. German Mills soon after became a ghost town. Between 1803 to 1812, another attempt at settling in the region was made. The largest group of settlers were
Pennsylvania Germans, most of whom were
Mennonites. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers had the best chance for survival because they had already survived harsh conditions in Pennsylvania. By 1830, many
Irish,
Scottish and
English famalies immigrated to
Upper Canada, many settling in Markham.
Markham's early years blended the rigors of homesteading with the development of agriculture-based industries. The many rivers and streams in the Township soon supported water-powered saw and grist mills 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. By 1857, most of the Township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like
Thornhill,
Unionville and
Markham greatly expanded. In 1871, the
Toronto and Nipissing Railway company built the first rail line to Markham, which is still used today by the
GO Train commuter services. The first form of structured municipal government occurred in 1850 when the Township of Markham was created.
When Markham was incorporated as a town in 1972, its population quickly grew due to urban sprawl from the
Greater Toronto Area. 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.
At present, 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. ATI Technologies (now known as AMD), 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.
Geography
Markham covers an area of 212.47
square kilometres and Markham's Town Centre is at . It is bounded by 5 municipalities:
- *Richmond Hill - boundary along Highway 7 from Yonge Street to Highway 404 and at Highway 404 from Highway 7 to 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road
- *Toronto - boundary along Steeles Avenue
- *Whitchurch-Stouffville - boundary is from Highway 404 to York-Durham line somewhere between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road
Topography
Markham's average altitude is at 200 metres and in general consists of genty 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.
Climate
Due to Markham's proximity to Toronto, Markham shares the same climate as Toronto. On an average day, Markham is generally one to two
degrees celsius cooler than in downtown Toronto.
Demographics
Visible Minority Population as of the 2006 Census.
Population
Markham has experienced tremendous growth since the 1980s. The Canadian census of 2006 states that the population of Markham was 261,573, which is a 25.4% increase from the
2001 census.
Religion
Markham is home to many religions. According to the Canadian census of 2006 it states:
Race
Markham is home to many immigrants, mainly from Europe and South Asia. The Canadian census of 2006 states 42.6% of the population were Canadian-born population whereas 56.6% were foreign-born. 0.9% are non-residents. According to the 2006 census, the largest racial groups in Markham were;
Government
Markham Civic Centre
Town Council
The
Markham Town Council consists of the
Frank Scarpitti as mayor, four regional councillors and eight ward councillors representing one of the town's eight wards.
Frank Scarpitti replaced the now retired
Donald Cousens, who was a former PC MPP for Markham and
Presbyterian church minister. The mayor and four regional councillors are elected by the community to represent the Town of Markham at the regional level. The members of council are elected by the municipality's voters. 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.
Markham Civic Centre
The town council is located at the
Markham Civic Centre at
York Regional Road 7 and
Warden Avenue. The previous offices on
Woodbine Avenue have disappeared where now a funeral home operates. 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.
By-Laws
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:
- Animal Control (see Dog Owners' Liability Act of Ontario)
- Fencing and Swimming Pools
- Registration of Basement Apartments and Second Suites
Town Services
Police
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, Ontario. 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.
Fire
Markham Fire and Emergency Services was established in 1970 as Markham Fire Department and replaced various local volunteer fire units. There are 7 fire stations currently serving Markham.
Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport is also served by Markham's Fire service.
Hospitals
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.
Neighbourhoods and Communities
Markham suburbs
Toogood Pond
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) 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).
Education
High Schools
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.
Post-Secondary
Seneca College's Markham Campus
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
York University,
Ryerson University,
University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the
University of Toronto, as well as to Toronto campuses of Seneca College,
Centennial College,
George Brown College,
Humber College,
The Michener Institute,
Durham College and
Sheridan College.
Economy
In the 19th century, Markham was a vibrant, independent community with distilleries and breweries around the Highway 7 and 48 intersection. The 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,
Sun Microsystems,
Honeywell,
Apple Inc.,
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 of the
Greater Montreal Area and has a very high financial profile.
Parks
Circular pathway along Berczy Park.
Culture
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.
Sports
Town issues
Like most cities and towns in the
Greater Toronto Area, Markham has a few issues it must deal with:
Urban growth
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.
Transit plan
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.
Attractions
Markham has retained its historic past in part of the town. Here a just few places of interest:
- Heintzman House - Home of Colonel George Crookshank, Sam Francis and Charles Heintzman of Heintzman & Co., the piano manufacturer.
- Markham Heritage Estates - a unique, specially designed heritage subdivision owned by the Town of Markham
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:
- Devonshire Stables & Country Bumpkins Pony Farm
- Locust Hill Station - built in 1936 and re-located to the grounds of the Markham Museum
Performing arts
Markham Theatre For Performing Arts
Markham is home to several locally-oriented performing arts groups:
- Unionville Theatre Company
A key arts venue is the 'Markham Theatre For Performing Arts', at the Markham Civic Centre located at
Highway 7 and
Warden Avenue.
Annual events
Events taking place annually include the Markham Youth Festival, Unionville Festival, Markham Village Music Festival, Markham Jazz Festival, Milliken Mills Children's Festival, Thornhill Village Festival,
Markham Fair, Markham Festival of Lights, Markham Santa Claus Parade, Olde Tyme Christmas Unionville, Markham Ribfest & Music Festival, Cornell Garden Festival and the Cornell Easter Egg Hunt.
Shopping
The Pacific Mall is the largest Asian mall in North America and some of the most expensive retail space in Canada.
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:
- The Shops on Steeles and 404
Local media
- The Liberal - serving Thornhill and Richmond Hill
- The York Region Business Times - business news
- York Region Media Group - Online news
- Rogers Cable 10 - local community TV station for York Region, owned by Rogers Media
- The Cornell Crier - local news and lifestyle
Transportation
Roads
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.
Rail
Public Transit
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.
Air
Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport is one of Canada's top ten airports, which caters to general aviation and business commuter traffic to
Ottawa and
Montreal. Operators at Buttonville include:
- Executive Edge Air Charter
- Canadian Flyers International
- , to and from Toronto Pearson International Airport
- LCE Aviation, providing private air charters around Southern Ontario and across the continent
- Leggat Aviation Ltd., an authorized Cessna Dealership that specializes in new aircraft sales, full service and parts supply
Buttonville Airport is slated to close by 2016.
Notable people from Markham
Athletes
Media
Musicians
Sister cities
References and footnotes
