Markham joins Canada's Big City Mayors' Caucus

Next caucus meeting to be held in Regina, Saskatchewan, in June

Yorkregion.com
May 10, 2022
Yoyo Yan

The City of Markham, Canada's 16th largest municipality, will join the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Big City Mayors' Caucus (BCMC). Mayor Frank Scarpitti will represent the City of Markham on the BCMC.

The BCMC caucus includes 23 of Canada's largest cities, offering a forum for policy development on a range of issues affecting Canada's largest cities. Through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the Big City Mayors' Caucus partners with the federal government in nation building through city building.

Markham's strategic priorities are aligned with BCMC and will be a valuable contributor to the discussion and advocacy efforts of the caucus.

With a population of over 356,000, Markham is one of Canada's fastest-growing cities and the largest municipality in the Region of York. The expansion of the caucus and inclusion of the City of Markham reflects the growth and leadership of the City of Markham.

"Canada's Big City Mayors' Caucus is an important forum to share ideas, raise concerns and advocate on behalf of 80 per cent of Canadians who live in urban municipalities," said Scarpitti.

"Markham is not only Canada's most culturally diverse city, it is highly regarded for its commitment and focus on municipal innovation, fiscal management and sustainability, key areas of mutual importance for FCM and other large Canadian municipalities. I am committed to representing Markham and advocating for the interests of Canada's big cities at the federal level through FCM. I would like to thank BCMC Chair Mayor Mike Savage, President Joanne Vanderheyden and members of the caucus for their welcoming, as well as FCM Chief Executive Officer Carole Saab for her outstanding commitment to city building."

"I want to welcome the City of Markham into the caucus. Our collaboration will continue to drive important progress for the Canadians we serve," said Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, chair of the BCMC.

Included in Markham's strategic plan are goals strongly aligned with those of large municipalities across Canada. Increasing the supply of housing, Indigenous partnerships, sustainability, building public transit and infrastructure investment are priority areas of both FCM and the City of Markham.

Recently, Markham approved an affordable and rental housing strategy with tangible steps to build additional supply and the city and region are advancing high order transit with the Yonge North Subway Extension, as well as expanding the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network.

To protect the environment for future generations to come, the city has put in place achievable targets that have resulted in Markham having one of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita among large Canadian municipalities.
Markham is committed to fulfilling the municipal calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 2017, a unique partnership agreement was formed with a remote First Nations community that has resulted in community collaboration and cultural and knowledge exchange.

The next meeting of Canada's Big City Mayors' Caucus will be at the FCM's Annual Conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, in June.