Sobi Ragunathan
Co-Founder & Vice-President of Operations, Strategy, and Partnerships, 4S Consulting Services
Keith Chang
President, SenovvA Canada
The City of Markham is a great place to live and work, and it’s becoming a magnet for global talent and entrepreneurs.
Located in the centre of the Greater Toronto Area, the City of Markham is one of Canada’s fastest-growing and culturally diverse cities. It has become a hub for innovation, driven by next-generation technology and knowledge-based industries. Thanks to the many advantages the city boasts — including its high-quality infrastructure and amenities, thriving knowledge economy, and business-supportive environment — it is consistently attracting global talent and enriching its social, economic, and cultural fabric.
A dynamic community
From its high-quality educational facilities and big-city amenities to its booming economy and ripe business landscape, Markham has established itself as a desirable global city that attracts significant investment and residents and offers substantial growth opportunities.
Markham’s excellent elementary and high schools — which rank amongst the best in Canada — are complemented by other high-quality learning institutes, including a new York University campus, which will open in 2024, and Canada’s largest college, Seneca College. This educational excellence sets the groundwork for Markham’s flourishing knowledge economy and helps the city to attract diverse talent.
As a new urban centre, Markham offers a high quality of life supported by well-built and safe community neighbourhoods with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a variety of cultural and entertainment amenities, including a vibrant new downtown. These offerings have attracted many newcomers.
Diversity as a core strength
Markham is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in Canada. As of 2016, about 78 per cent of the city’s residents are visible minorities, and about 59 per cent are foreign-born. And the city embraces this diversity as one of its core advantages. Markham’s recently updated Diversity Action Plan, a community-oriented strategy that addresses diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, anti-racism, and anti-discrimination in all city efforts, ensures all are welcome and included. The city also partners with different integration networks and agencies to support new immigrants in settling into Markham’s community more successfully.
Newcomers moving to Markham — many of whom are entrepreneurs and highly talented professionals — are critically shaping the city’s cultural and economic prosperity. They make up a highly skilled and multilingual talent pool and help to build an inclusive community and economy.
The entrepreneurial spirit, talented skills, and investment that immigrant entrepreneurs bring have significantly contributed to Markham’s success.
“Multiculturalism is one of the things that makes Markham so unique,” says Sobi Ragunathan, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Operations, Strategy, and Partnerships at 4S Consulting Services, a leading occupational health and safety training, consulting, and online safety management system provider that employs about 70 people in Markham. “Ever since we moved our head office to Markham, we have a great talent pool with a mix of ethnic groups and societal backgrounds, which benefits our business.”
Contributing to Markham’s success
And for business leaders like Ragunathan, Markham’s attraction includes not only its diverse talent pool but also the quality of life it offers.
“Markham has been an amazing place to start and expand a business,” Raghunathan says. “It’s accessible, safe, and all ethnic backgrounds are embraced and celebrated here.” As a mother of two small children, she values the city’s top-tier public schools.
Markham has been an amazing place to start and expand a business
Sobi Ragunathan
Keith Chang, President of SenovvA Canada, a live event and film production company, echoes this enthusiasm for putting down roots in Markham. “It’s a great place to live,” he says. “I raised my family here. Markham has created a sense of community, and even though it has grown a lot, it hasn’t lost that community feeling.”
Like many other local business leaders, Chang feels that giving back to the community is important. He serves on the Board of Directors of Union Villa, a long-term care facility in Markham. “It’s incredible being a part of the community and helping to support it,” he says.
Business leaders like Ragunathan and Chang are making powerful contributions to the success of Markham as a community and economy. Thanks to the city’s many attractive features, it keeps drawing more newcomers into its fold.
The City of Markham offers a high quality of life, business-supportive environment, and significant employment opportunities that are supported by its thriving knowledge economy. Discover Markham at business.markham.ca.
