Amazing Facts About Markham
Markham is the largest of nine municipalities in York Region with a population of more than 350,000.
It is the 16th largest municipality in Canada and the 7th largest in Ontario.
Its land area covers 211.53 square kilometres, and its geographic location is 43° 53′ N, 79° 15′ W.
Markham’s southern boundary is Steeles Avenue. Its westernmost boundary follows Yonge Street north to Highway 7. Highway 7 forms its northern boundary east to Highway 404. Highway 404 now forms its western boundary north to a line drawn between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Road in the north. It is bounded on the east by the York-Durham Line.
Markham is a multicultural community of over 65 cultures and languages. The municipality of Markham is the most diverse in Canada, with 72.3% of its population part of visible minority groups. In 2011, according to Statistics Canada, the average age for males was 38.6 and for females 40.5.
It is dedicated to preserving its natural beauty and historical heritage. In August 2000, the City of Markham was the first recipient of the prestigious prize, the Prince of Wales Heritage Award, honouring the local government for preserving heritage buildings through bylaws and policies. This award was initiated by the Heritage Canada Foundation under royal decree.
The City of Markham is known as the High-Tech Capital of Canada because it has the greatest concentration of high tech and life science companies in Canada, with over 1,100, a number of which are Fortune 500 businesses. Markham also hosts companies which are engaged in research & development, computer software, electronics, robotics, pharmaceuticals, health care, communication, manufacturing, and distribution. It is home to Canadian industry leaders, including IBM Canada, Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc, Apple Canada, AMD, Hewlitt Packard, GEAC, Toshiba of Canada Limited, Lucent Technologies, Compaq Canada Inc, AT&T Canada, SMTC Manufacturing Corporation, and many more. This is why Markham is also known as “The Silicon Valley of the North”.
Over 400 national and international corporations have located their headquarters in the City of Markham. These corporations include Mitsubishi, American Express, Pioneer Electronics, Office Depot, Johnson & Johnson, A.C. Nielsen Canada, Robin Hood Multi Foods Inc., Allstate Insurance, and Levi Strauss Inc to name just a few. All businesses in Markham are supported by a pro-business environment, a highly educated labour force, state-of-the-art facilities, a fibre optic communication system, and an efficient transportation system.
The top 10 employers of 2015 in Markham are IBM Canada Ltd., City of Markham, TD Waterhouse Inc., Markham Stouffville Hospital, AMD Technologies Inc., The Miller Group, CGI Information Systems, Johnson and Johnson Inc., Estee Lauder, and The Liberal.
Milne Dam Conservation Park on the Rouge River is one of Markham’s natural treasure parks, with diverse wildlife and plants. It’s a sanctuary for migratory birds.
One of Markham’s best golf courses, The Angus Glen Golf Club, built in 1995, host The Bell Canadian Open Championships in 2007.
Markham’s attractions include one of the top museums in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Markham Museum. There’s also the FLATO Markham Theatre, featuring world class music and theatre productions. Furthermore, Varley Art Gallery presents an extensive collection of paintings by one of Canada’s famous Group of Seven artists, F. V. Varley.
Its local hospital, Markham Stouffville Hospital, is an award-winning state-of-the-art facility and one of the top performing hospitals in Canada.
More amazing facts about Markham: it has 207 sports fields, 81 baseball diamonds, 126 soccer fields, 65 tennis courts, 10 indoor skating facilities, 2 cricket pitches, 2 rugby fields, 7 bocci courts, 4 bowling green courts, a skate park and 12 golf courses, offering recreational activities throughout its many communities.
For the second consecutive year the citizens of Markham have been recognized as the best recyclers in Canada. It won two prestigious Ontario Waste Minimization Award from the Recycling Council of Ontario, the 2008 Sustainable Municipality Gold Award and a Bronze Promotion Award for its special events portable EcoMedia bins. Markham has the highest waste diversion rate of 69.7% of any urban municipality in Canada.