Markham Neighbourhoods

Like many other towns and cities in Ontario, Markham's growth has caused it to run up against the borders of other villages and towns, some of which have ended up being absorbed into Markham. Within Markham, these formerly independent communities function much as neighborhoods do in big cities but retain their separate identities, with schools, road signs, and even telephone listings displaying the names of the original communities. Some of the best known of Markham's “neighborhoods” include Thornhill, Unionville, Milliken Mills, and Cornell. Each has a very different feel to it, so we urge you to investigate your options to see which one would be the best fit for you and your family.

Thornhill is a unique case when it comes to Markham neighbourhoods, because only part of it actually belongs to Markham. Split roughly in half by Yonge Street, which runs North through Toronto and into Thornhill, the Eastern part falls under Markham's jurisdiction and the Western half under Vaughan's. Just to make things more confusing, residents of Thornhill still strongly identify with their old community name and borders, split or no split. As a community, Thornill is diverse both in terms of ethnicity and home size. You'll find plenty of suburban housing tracts built post 1980 and also lots of new condo and retail complexes. Tourists love Thornhill because it still has its historic charm – it was founded in 1794.

While Thornill is one of the oldest of the communities that make up Markham, Cornell is one of the newest. It's a planned community and almost nothing in it dates back to before 1990. Prior to that date Cornell was mostly farmland, but it is being eaten up at a prodigious rate now to satisfy the housing needs of newcomers to Markham. Cornell was pre-designed as an example of new urbanism, meaning you can expect housing there to be of high density (most of it is town homes) and the amenities to be centrally located. Cornell is an eminently walkable neighborhood and a great choice for anyone who doesn't want to own a car.

In contrast to Cornell's modest town homes, Unionville is home to some of the largest and most expensive homes in all of Markham. The neighborhood is one of the most affluent in the Greater Toronto Area, and by extension the country. Only a small portion of Unionville is zoned for industrial use, while the rest remains residential. Many of the homes there are modern and new, but one of the reasons tourist find Unionville so attractive is that many of them are original historic homes. This neighborhood has a very insular feel to it due to the fact that it has managed to hang on to a lot of its surrounding farmland, and remains one of the most desirable places to live in Markham.

In addition to its quaintly historic main thoroughfares, Markham is also known for its large Chinese Canadian population, which is concentrated in the neighborhood of Milliken Mills. The neighborhood itself is mostly residential, containing two storey detached homes like many of Markham's other neighborhoods, but it also has a fascinating infusion of Chinese culture. Miliken Mills, despite its small size,  has its own Chinatown and is home to one of the largest Chinese malls in the Greater Toronto Area.