Canada's New Immigration Story is Markham's Story

MARKHAM, ON – November 1, 2017 – “As the Federal government unveils its annual immigration targets for 2018, I am encouraged to hear that the vast majority of immigrants will be from the economic class,” says Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “People coming to Canada, coming to Markham are highly educated and highly skilled.”

Markham is Canada’s most ethnically-diverse city. According to the latest Census numbers, Markham is the most diverse city in all of the GTA with nearly 80 per cent of residents self-identifying as visible minorities.

“We view our diversity as an absolute strength, new Canadians have created economic prosperity. We believe in matching newcomers’ skills to jobs and we know employers are looking for a diverse and talented workforce. From a city point of view, that positions us well as we are Canada’s High-Tech capital.”

Markham is home to more than 1,000 high-tech & life sciences companies and 400 multi-national headquarters. “Companies like Huawei Technologies, AMD and IBM chose to invest in Markham because of our diverse intellectual capital,” says Mayor Scarpitti.

“York Region is one of the fastest growing in North America and we believe in matching the skills of internationally educated professionals with jobs, which is good for all Canadians.”

Mayor Frank Scarpitti Co-Chairs the Community Partnership Council, which works with York Region to develop and implement the Region's immigrant settlement strategy. York Region recently hosted The Gateway 2017 Conference to help those professionals learn about the Canadian business culture, entrepreneurial support and provide a networking opportunity in the Region.

The City of Markham frequently hosts international delegations and there have been several global missions to China, India and Israel. This November, Mayor Scarpitti will join a team to visit Japan. “International ties are key to Markham’s economic success, people who join us are diaspora who can share their own story of opportunity in Canada, there is no better selling tool.”

The City is committed to the benefits of diversity through our Diversity Action Plan: Everyone Welcome. Diversity is one of our four strategic priorities in Building Markham's Future Together: Strategic Plan 2015-2019.

“I get inspired by those who come to Canada and make a difference," says Mayor Scarpitti, “we can experience the world right in our own community because we have cultural groups represented from around the globe.”