Meet Canada’s Smart21 Communities of 2021: Markham, Ontario

This is Markham’s second time as a SMART21 community, having attained a TOP7 status as well in 2020.  It has a population over 350,000 with a vibrant tech sector and is home to hundreds of corporate head offices. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and within the Region of York. Markham is well known as a leader in digital initiatives, from community support and digital training, to partnerships with high tech industry to next-generation upgrades to municipal services.

Markham is home to leading and innovative technology companies in all phases of maturity – from startup to global presence. The city is becoming a more digitally enabled and connected city through development of its Digital Strategy laying out a digital roadmap based on collaboration and input from city staff and councilors, residents, businesses, service groups, academics, industry thought leaders and technology experts. Markham is recognized for its exceptional broadband availability and more than 95% adoption of broadband, allowing Markham to be a trailblazer in digital democracy initiatives. A major portion of the city’s municipal government services are available online, but the most notable project to take advantage of Markham’s broadband availability is Markham’s Municipal Election – Online Voting initiative.

The Markham Public Library (MPL) Digital Inclusion Strategy seeks to provide access to broadband connectivity, digital equipment and tools, as well as learning opportunities necessary to allow citizens to fully use and benefit from digital technologies. The MPL also offers many STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts & Math) programs to local schools as well as a CoderDojo program. The Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI) is Canada’s first incubator to focus on hardware and silicon solutions, targeting small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in key sectors including digital media & ICT, advanced manufacturing, health and environment.