Somewhere along the way, the assumption took hold that serious tech companies plant their Canadian flag downtown. A Bay Street address, a King West office, proximity to the financial district was the standard. And it made sense for a certain kind of company at a certain stage.
The pattern has been shifting for years, and Markham has been the primary beneficiary. Many Markham office space tech companies are realizing the potential of this vibrant tech ecosystem.
Canada’s GTA is currently ranked the third-largest tech hub in North America, behind only New York and Silicon Valley. What’s less discussed is where within the GTA that tech concentration actually lives.
Markham is Canada’s second-largest ICT hub after Toronto proper, home to more than 1,500 technology companies employing over 35,400 knowledge sector workers, with a GDP that reached $20.6 billion in 2025.
For international companies setting up a Canadian headquarters or R&D centre, that context matters more than most realize when they start their real estate search.
The companies that end up in Markham often come in skeptical and leave converted. The trajectory is consistent: an international firm, typically from the US, Europe, or Asia, identifies Canada as a target market or talent play, begins its GTA search with downtown as the default assumption, and then starts asking the question that changes the conversation: where are the people we’re trying to hire?
In semiconductor design, hardware engineering, telecommunications, and advanced manufacturing, the talent pool is disproportionately concentrated in York Region. This isn’t accidental.
Markham has the highest concentration of ICT workers in the country per capita, and that density exists because the companies came first and the workforce followed. Waves of highly educated immigrants settled in the community and were absorbed by a tech ecosystem that had been building since the 1980s.
According to Statistics Canada, 66.7% of Markham residents speak two or more languages, compared to the provincial average of 41.7%. For companies that need to serve international markets, operate global engineering teams, or recruit from diaspora communities with deep technical expertise, that is a material operational advantage.
Astera Labs, the California-based semiconductor company, chose Markham for its Canadian Research and Design Centre.
Syntronic, the Swedish design house, made the same call. Through remote hiring during the pandemic, they discovered that they’d already built a critical mass of Markham-based engineers, and that the logical next step was to put a building around them.
Over 240 foreign companies are currently based in Markham. AMD, Qualcomm, IBM, GM’s Canadian Technical Centre, TD Bank’s technology hub, and Honeywell all have significant operations there.
One of the most distinctive aspects of Markham’s tech ecosystem is the concentration in hardware, a sector that rarely shows up when people talk about Canadian tech.
Markham is home to Canada’s only hardware lab, ventureLAB, which operates the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, the country’s exclusive lab and incubator for hardware and semiconductor-focused companies.
The semiconductor market in York Region is valued at approximately $7 billion. For companies working on chip design, embedded systems, or advanced manufacturing Markham is a more logical base than downtown Toronto, which simply doesn’t have the ecosystem for areas where the physical proximity of suppliers, engineers, and research partners creates genuine operational value.
This is the part of Markham’s story that rarely gets told in real estate conversations, but it explains a significant portion of why international tech companies in specific verticals keep landing there.
Beyond the talent argument, the real estate economics in Markham are genuinely compelling relative to downtown Toronto, and the comparison becomes more significant as companies scale.
Class A office space in Markham trades at a meaningful discount to comparable downtown product, with substantially more available square footage in modern buildings. Parking is not an afterthought.
Highway 404 and Highway 407 connectivity means that for employees driving from across York Region, Richmond Hill, Aurora, and Newmarket, Markham is the natural meeting point of where people already live.
The 407 also provides a direct connection from Markham to Pearson Airport, which matters for companies that run global operations and need executive travel to be manageable.
This broader York Region ecosystem is part of what makes Markham compelling for growing companies.
A Regional Ecosystem Built for Growth
Nearby in Richmond Hill, Skytek Business Centre has supported more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and businesses from its 20,000 sq. ft. flexible workspace at 95 Mural Street. Many of those businesses grow into the Richmond Hill-Markham corridor, using the area as a launchpad for expansion across York Region and the GTA.
For companies evaluating Markham, this is part of the broader real estate story.
The appeal is not only large-format corporate office space. It is the surrounding business infrastructure: flexible workspace, professional services, hybrid work support, meeting space, administrative resources, and a local community that helps smaller companies launch, operate, and grow.
The city itself has also invested in being business-friendly in ways that show up in real ways. Honda Canada’s Canadian head office relocation was completed with full approvals in eight months; a timeline that City officials describe, accurately, as unusual by Ontario planning standards.
The concierge service that Markham’s economic development office provides to incoming businesses is substantive rather than ceremonial.
For companies in growth mode that are building out their Canadian presence, the combination of available quality space, talent density, regional business infrastructure, and a city government that actively wants them there creates a set of conditions that downtown Toronto, operating at a different price point and with different infrastructure constraints, cannot easily replicate.
The most common mistake international companies make when evaluating Markham is treating it as a consolation prize; something you look at when downtown doesn’t work, rather than the other way around.
Companies that reverse the framing, and start where their target talent pool lives and works, and then choosing the office location that positions them best to access it, tend to arrive at Markham earlier in the process and with more conviction.
The firms that treat it as a fallback often negotiate more reactively, miss buildings that would have suited them, and end up in space that was available rather than optimal.
The second common mistake is underestimating how much the lease structure matters in a suburban market. Markham has multiple distinct office nodes with different accessibility profiles, different tenant improvement norms, and different landlord motivations.
The space available at Steeles and Weston behaves differently from the space along the 404 corridor.
Working with an advisor who understands the specific nodes, the specific landlords, and what comparable deals look like in each part of the market is the difference between a lease that fits your business and one that fits whatever was available.
ENCOR Advisors represents corporate tenants in Markham, York Region, and across the GTA. We work exclusively for occupiers, which means our only obligation is to your outcome. For international companies setting up a Canadian presence or expanding their GTA footprint, we can advise on market positioning, run the competitive process, and negotiate the full economic package: rent, tenant improvement allowances, free rent, and flexibility provisions.
If you’re evaluating Markham as part of a Canadian location decision, we’d welcome a conversation.
Talk to an ENCOR advisor about your Markham office strategy →
Your questions answered
Many international companies choose Markham because it offers direct access to a large concentration of technology, engineering, telecommunications, semiconductor, and advanced manufacturing talent. Companies may also benefit from lower real estate costs, modern office inventory, parking, highway access, and proximity to where many employees already live.
Markham is particularly well suited to companies in semiconductor design, hardware engineering, telecommunications, embedded systems, advanced manufacturing, automotive technology, financial technology, and enterprise software. It can also be attractive to businesses managing international teams or serving global markets.
Yes. Markham has one of Canada’s highest concentrations of information and communications technology workers on a per-capita basis. Its technology workforce has developed over several decades alongside major employers and a highly educated, multilingual population.
Markham offers a concentration of engineers, suppliers, research partners, established technology companies, and specialized support infrastructure. The region is also home to ventureLAB’s Hardware Catalyst Initiative, which supports hardware and semiconductor-focused companies.
Markham is home to operations from companies such as AMD, Qualcomm, IBM, General Motors, TD Bank, Honeywell, Astera Labs, and Syntronic. More than 240 foreign-owned companies are based in the city.
Class A office space in Markham generally trades at a discount to comparable downtown Toronto space. Companies may also find larger floorplates, more available space, modern buildings, and better parking options. The total financial advantage will depend on the building, office node, lease structure, incentives, and tenant improvement requirements.
Markham is connected to communities across York Region and the Greater Toronto Area through Highways 404 and 407. It is a practical location for employees commuting from Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, and surrounding areas. Highway 407 also provides a direct route toward Toronto Pearson International Airport.
No. The Markham–Richmond Hill corridor supports companies at different stages of growth. In addition to large corporate offices, the region offers flexible workspaces, meeting facilities, professional services, administrative support, and other infrastructure for startups and smaller international businesses establishing a Canadian presence.
Companies should evaluate employee commuting patterns, highway and transit access, parking, nearby amenities, building quality, expansion options, landlord incentives, tenant improvement allowances, and lease flexibility. Different office nodes within the market can have significantly different accessibility profiles and commercial terms.
Depending on the property and market conditions, tenants may be able to negotiate tenant improvement allowances, free-rent periods, moving allowances, expansion rights, contraction options, renewal rights, signage, and other flexibility provisions. The strength of the package depends on the building, landlord, lease term, tenant covenant, and competitive process.
Companies should begin the process before their preferred occupancy date becomes urgent. Starting early creates more time to compare buildings, understand employee locations, negotiate incentives, complete legal documentation, design the space, obtain approvals, and carry out construction.
ENCOR Advisors represents corporate occupiers rather than landlords. The team can help international and domestic companies assess location options, identify suitable properties, run a competitive leasing process, compare proposals, and negotiate rent, tenant improvement allowances, free rent, flexibility rights, and other economic terms.
