🔎 The race
Markham — Canada's fourth-largest municipality, home to 338,503 people at the 2021 census (Wikipedia) and roughly 370,000 today (The Canadianist) — votes for mayor on Monday, October 26, 2026 (AMO certified listing). Three candidates are certified for mayor: two-decade incumbent Frank Scarpitti, first-time challenger Martin Ross, and Stephen Edgell (AMO certified listing, The Canadianist).
Markham elects one mayor, four regional councillors, eight ward councillors and school board trustees on October 26, 2026 (The Canadianist). Nominations closed at 2 p.m. on August 21, and the City Clerk certified the mayoral field of three on August 24 (YorkRegion.com, The Canadianist). The mayor's race is the only city-wide contest with a genuinely contested incumbent — Scarpitti has held the office since 2006 (The Canadianist). Markham is one of seven York Region municipalities heading into October 26 with contested mayoral races set when nominations closed on August 21 (AuroraToday.ca).
Elsewhere on the ballot: the race for the four regional seats is crowded — 11 candidates in total at nomination close, plus 30 candidates across the 8 wards — with incumbents Alan Ho, Jim Jones and Joe Li running, Ward 6 councillor Amanda Yeung Collucci leaving her ward seat for the regional race, and 2022 mayor-runner-up Don Hamilton also registering as a regional candidate (YorkRegion.com, AMO certified listing). In Ward 3, retiring councillor Reid McAlpine leaves an open six-candidate race (YorkRegion.com, WE News). Deputy mayor Michael Chan announced on August 20 that he won't seek re-election (YorkRegion.com, Markham Review).
Voting runs online October 16–26 and in person October 23–26, with special ballots by appointment from September 28 to October 22 (City of Markham elections, The Canadianist). AMO puts Markham's 2026 eligible voters at 256,030 (AMO certified listing).
In the last election, Scarpitti beat then-deputy mayor Don Hamilton in a landslide on a low turnout — 44,172 votes (64.4%) to 24,469 (35.6%), with 68,641 ballots cast from 220,234 eligible voters, a 31.2% turnout (AMO 2022 results). Coverage called the roughly 20,000-vote margin — Scarpitti won 64.35% of the mayoral vote — and the fact that almost 68% of registered voters stayed home the striking numbers (The Canadianist, The Canadianist). Eligible voters have since grown about 16%, from 220,234 in 2022 to 256,030 in 2026 (AMO 2022 results, AMO certified listing). Hamilton is back in 2026 running for a regional councillor seat, and the 2022 council churns into 2026: deputy mayor Michael Chan is retiring from council, Ward 3's Reid McAlpine is not seeking re-election, and Ward 6's Amanda Yeung Collucci moved from ward to regional race (YorkRegion.com, AMO certified listing, Markham Review).
⚡ Key issues
Growth & housing
Markham isn't asking whether it will grow. The city — roughly 370,000 residents today — is projected to pass 600,000 by 2051, with population up about 75% and employment up almost 60% over 30 years in the city's own asset-management planning (The Canadianist). Markham has pledged to work toward a provincial target of 44,000 new homes by 2031 (The Canadianist). The scale of approvals is visible in single files: one recently approved project at 455 Ferrier Street is expected to add about 3,250 residential units along with a school, park space and commercial uses (The Canadianist). The 2026 race asks how the next mayor absorbs hundreds of thousands of new residents without breaking services and neighbourhoods that already work (The Canadianist).
Taxes & the $677.9M budget
Markham's 2026 budget totals $677.9 million, including $160.4 million for 233 capital projects — $71.1 million for new infrastructure serving growth and $89.3 million to maintain what exists (The Canadianist, The Canadianist). The Markham portion of property taxes rose 3.9% — about $55 for the average home, per the city (The Canadianist). Scarpitti campaigns on a fiscal record the city says includes the lowest average property-tax-rate increase in the GTA over 21 consecutive years (The Canadianist). Ross attacks the opposite edge: he criticized council's own pay increase during a cost-of-living squeeze and pledges to freeze council compensation (YorkRegion.com, The Canadianist).
Transportation & traffic
Transportation and traffic is a declared core issue of the 2026 race (ONAC issue tracker). Markham's "Mobility for All" transportation master plan is still in development, with the first council workshop held in October 2025 (ONAC issue tracker). The October 31, 2025 budget includes $2.5 million for active transportation programs and construction (ONAC issue tracker). Street-level fights are sharp: a motion to pause planning and design of bike lanes on residential streets pending a review of parking impacts was defeated at the April 14, 2026 Development Services Committee after significant public opposition (ONAC issue tracker). Growth pressure on the road network is acknowledged in the city's own road-safety planning (The Canadianist).
The Microsoft AI data centre
An AI data centre is the election's signature development fight. Site plan SP.23.M.0072 covers a three-storey data-centre building with a gross floor area of 33,243 m² in Phase 1 on land Microsoft is developing (ONAC issue tracker). The enabling zoning history runs from a February 2018 Official Plan amendment expanding permitted uses on the lot through a 2024 by-law change (ONAC issue tracker). The tracker's core charge is procedural: the project "has not been discussed at public Council or Committee meetings" and is not referenced as a "data centre" or "Microsoft" development in council materials (ONAC issue tracker). The tracker lists Scarpitti as having led approval of the Microsoft data centre; Edgell's position is listed as unclear (ONAC issue tracker).
Official Plan review, greenspace & environment
Greenspace and environment is the third declared core issue of the race (ONAC issue tracker). Council received the Official Plan Review presentation on January 23, 2025, and the review — still underway — "will influence environmental decision-making over the decades to come" (ONAC issue tracker). Candidate engagement so far is uneven: Edgell, the only mayoral candidate the tracker lists an environment position for, has made a deputation on the Official Plan (ONAC issue tracker). Edgell also lists transit-oriented development as his transit stance (ONAC issue tracker).
Governance & transparency
Twenty years of continuous leadership has made "how City Hall operates" itself an issue. Markham's own records show Scarpitti exercised strong-mayor powers several times in 2026, including a March veto involving housing-related planning amendments (The Canadianist). Ross has built his campaign on transparency and accountability — "I want to be the voice for the people that never get heard in the City of Markham" — and argues "nobody in any political position should be in power for 20 years" (YorkRegion.com). He has also questioned the city's handling of the investigation involving former development-services commissioner Arvin Prasad, saying residents deserve greater transparency (YorkRegion.com).
- No 2026 Markham mayoral debate or all-candidates forum has been announced or reported as of this compilation (WE News).
- Stephen Edgell has published no substantial platform — the profile rests on a single TV segment, one issue-tracker entry and news coverage (The Canadianist, CTV News via Google News).
- No standalone 2026 campaign-platform document for Frank Scarpitti was located in coverage consulted; his summary is drawn from his budget record and public statements (The Canadianist).
- Deputy mayor Michael Chan announced on August 20, 2026 that he won't seek re-election, so he is not on the ballot (YorkRegion.com, Markham Review).
- Voting windows: online October 16–26, in person October 23–26, special ballots by appointment September 28 – October 22 (City of Markham elections, The Canadianist).
- Unofficial, independently compiled voter-information page, not endorsed by the City of Markham; information is current as of the October 15, 2026 compilation and may change before election day — always confirm at markham.ca/elections.
| Frank Scarpitti Incumbent Elected 2022 · Mayor (64.4%) | 🔎 Mayor since 2006 — longest-serving mayor in Markham history — and first elected to Markham council as a regional councillor in 1985 (The Canadianist, The Canadianist). Also sits on York Regional Council, chairs the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation and serves as vice-chair of the region's Transportation Services (The Canadianist). Entered the race on the final day nominations were open, August 21, and was certified August 24 (YorkRegion.com, The Canadianist). Seeking a sixth consecutive term; Markham voters have elected him ten times in total (The Canadianist). Platform: continuity through growth — he argues Markham grew rapidly without losing control of its finances while investing in transit, infrastructure, parks and civic projects, "moving forward" on both new and aging infrastructure (The Canadianist); fiscal record — points to the 2026 budget, a 3.9% Markham property-tax increase (~$55 for the average home) and the claimed lowest average tax-rate increase in the GTA for 21 straight years (The Canadianist, The Canadianist); growth — meeting the 44,000-home provincial target by 2031 is part of his case (The Canadianist); strong-mayor record — city records show his strong-mayor powers used several times in 2026, including a March veto of housing-related planning amendments, and the issue tracker credits him with leading approval of the Microsoft data centre (The Canadianist, ONAC issue tracker). A standalone 2026 campaign-platform document was not located in coverage consulted; the record above is drawn from his budget record and public statements (The Canadianist). AMO certified listing. |
| Martin Ross | 🔎 Unionville resident, father of two, hockey coach, founder of the Toronto Professional Hockey School and a first-time candidate (The Canadianist). His run grew out of a four-year legal battle with the city over an outdoor hockey rink he built in his backyard during the pandemic — a dispute through the courts that ended with the rink dismantled (The Canadianist, The Canadianist) — a notoriety that made him a local figure before he ever filed papers (YorkRegion.com, Wikipedia). "If the rink thing never happened, no, probably I wouldn't be here fighting for mayor," he said (YorkRegion.com). If elected, he'd step away from his hockey business to serve full time (YorkRegion.com). Platform: transparency and accountability — publish the mayor's office budget quarterly, greater disclosure of major city contracts, easier public access to municipal information, plain-language contracts and a public log of zoning variances (YorkRegion.com, The Canadianist, ONAC issue tracker); "one set of rules" — consistent enforcement and "pro-resident development", with infrastructure accompanying growth and residents and developers facing the same municipal rules (ONAC issue tracker, The Canadianist); freeze council compensation — he criticized council's salary increase amid residents' cost-of-living strain (The Canadianist, YorkRegion.com); restraint on strong-mayor powers — promises not to use them against a council majority without publicly explaining an extraordinary justification (The Canadianist); reduce red tape, support family recreation and community facilities, improve neighbourhood safety including street-by-street crime data, and back community events like other municipalities' World Cup watch parties (YorkRegion.com, ONAC issue tracker). Campaign site: martinross4mayor.ca. Candidate video statement: CTV "Your 30 Seconds", September 24, 2026 (CTV News via Google News). |
| Stephen Edgell | 🔎 The third certified candidate (AMO certified listing), who previously presented himself publicly as a Ward 4 councillor candidate (The Canadianist). His campaign presence is limited: Markham's candidate registry lists him with a campaign email but no website, social-media account or phone number, and coverage found no substantial public mayoral platform (The Canadianist); one report found a campaign website containing little beyond his name, contact details and a "fuller site coming soon" notice (The Canadianist). He entered the mayor's race by early September 2026 (Markham Review). Published stances: transit-oriented development, per the issue tracker's survey of published statements (ONAC issue tracker); on environment, he has made a deputation on Markham's Official Plan review, and his position on the Microsoft data centre is listed as unclear (ONAC issue tracker). He recorded a CTV "Your 30 Seconds" candidate segment on September 25, 2026 (CTV News via Google News). Beyond these points his 2026 platform is unpublished — voters get far less on Edgell than on the other two candidates (The Canadianist). AMO certified listing. |
| Alan Ho Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City) | 🔎 |
| Amanda Yeung Collucci Serving council — different office Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 6 | 🔎 |
| Don Hamilton Ran 2022 · Mayor (35.6%) | 🔎 |
| Ivy Lee Ran 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City) | 🔎 |
| Jack Heath | 🔎 |
| Jim Jones Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City) | 🔎 |
| Joe Li Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City) | 🔎 |
| Joe Tay | 🔎 |
| Michael Huang | 🔎 |
| Paul Chiang | 🔎 |
| Richard Tranquada | 🔎 |
| Christina Cadorin | 🔎 |
| Keith Irish Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 1 | 🔎 |
| Haohui Yu | 🔎 |
| Mark Lin | 🔎 |
| Richard Lee | 🔎 |
| Ritch Lau Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 2 | 🔎 |
| Annie Chan Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 3 | 🔎 |
| Jack Ng | 🔎 |
| Kristian Chan | 🔎 |
| Marina Antonoglou | 🔎 |
| Ron Lynn | 🔎 |
| Thomas Psarianos | 🔎 |
| Karen Rea Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 4 | 🔎 |
| Vid Sansanwal Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 4 | 🔎 |
| Andrew Keyes Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 5 | 🔎 |
| Laurence Liang | 🔎 |
| Thamiraa Ragikaran | 🔎 |
| Hanson Shen | 🔎 |
| Joanna Yu | 🔎 |
| Jude Ahiaegbe | 🔎 |
| Kenneth Li | 🔎 |
| Larry Lau Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 2 | 🔎 |
| Patrick Yeung | 🔎 |
| Scott Xie | 🔎 |
| Killi Chelliah | 🔎 |
| Nimisha Patel Incumbent Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 7 | 🔎 |
| Sameer Qureshi | 🔎 |
| Stanley Sam | 🔎 |
| Isa Lee Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 8 | 🔎 |
| Jenny Chen | 🔎 |
🗞 On the radar — local coverage
- Liberal MP who suggested collecting a Chinese bounty on opponent runs for Markham council
- Markham election field set: A 3-way mayoral race, while 11 battle for regional council seats
- Marcus Ericsson wins inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers at Markham
- Louis Foster wins pole position at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham