Monday, May 7, 2018

Innovation Week In Markham

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti's statement.

For Immediate Release

May 7, 2018

Innovation Week in Markham: Statement for Mayor Frank Scarpitti

Drivers and pedestrians are noticing some new signs as they enter the City of Markham which read “Possible Home of Amazon HQ2”.

“Is it bold? Yes it is... because we are bold as a community," says Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. "When I look at a company like Amazon, they've pushed the envelope in so many ways. Anything is possible. We are Canada’s most ethnically diverse city with a highly skilled and educated workforce, more than 60% of our population has a post-secondary degree.”

The City of Markham has proclaimed May 7-13, 2018 as ‘Innovation Week in the City of Markham’. Markham is proud to be a part of the Toronto wide bid which demonstrates our strength as a region to compete globally. We look forward to further region-wide cooperation.

“This is a way to celebrate the tech companies in Markham and the rich and diverse talent pool we have attracted from all over the world,” says Mayor Scarpitti. “This is a move to capture Amazon’s attention, but I wanted to inform our business community and our residents, that when you hear of the Toronto bid, Markham is very much a part of that. All municipalities are working very hard, it’s healthy for municipalities to work together and a new Amazon headquarters would benefit the entire region and country.”

With more than 1500 tech companies generating more than 37,000 jobs, the City of Markham is in the heart of the innovation corridor in Ontario, outperforming the Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa regions. Markham’s innovation ecosystem includes startups and global technology corporations like GE, AMD and IBM.

“This innovation eco-system is the crown jewel of Markham,” says Joanna Ng, Senior Technical Staff Member & Master Inventor at IBM. “Encompassing major technology areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, block chains, big data and others, whose impact spans many industries from health care, finance, smarter cities and many others. This Markham innovation ecosystem will birth many transformational solutions with global impact, thus anchors and attracts many highly skilled jobs in Markham.”

GM also recently opened its Canadian Technical Centre in Markham, driving innovation through autonomous vehicle and infotainment technologies. York University is set to open its Markham Campus in 2021. Markham’s ecosystem includes innovation labs like ventureLAB and YSpace. For more information on why #ChooseMarkham, visit www.choosemarkham.ca

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Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti's Office: Lama Nicolas, Senior Communications Advisor at lnicolas@markham.ca or 416.671.2890.

For all other media inquiries / interview requests for the City of Markham:
Erynn Sally, Media Relations Coordinator at esally@markham.ca or 416.737.2684.