As many expect Mayor Frank Scarpitti to serve again, the race for Regional Council in Markham is emerging as one of the most closely watched contests in the 2026 municipal election, with a growing list of high-profile candidates and uncertainty surrounding several prominent political figures. Markham is the region’s high-tech capital, with a population of 370,000, of which 75% identify as visible minorities, particularly of Chinese and South Asian descent.
Despite claiming a dominant minority voter base, with rumors that Jack Heath and Don Hamilton will register to be re-elected, they are also expected to secure two of the four regional councillor seats. Jim Jones, incumbent Regional Councillor and veteran of Markham municipal politics, has a longstanding presence spanning 23 years that gives him considerable recognition among voters, and is expected to likewise succeed.
A crucial difference in the Markham regional councillor portfolio is that candidates with the four highest vote counts don’t merely become regional councillors but serve on York Region council board, and with eight Wards, Markham’s regional candidates run for the whole city, comparable to a mayoral election. With that in mind, the real question going into this election is which candidate who identifies as Chinese will secure a seat on the regional council, and how much of the vote will be split between the remaining candidates. Among the latest entrants is former Member of Parliament Paul Chiang, who has registered to run for Regional Council. Chiang, who previously represented the federal riding of Markham–Unionville, enters the race with significant name recognition that could reshape an already competitive field, and identifies as Hakka Chinese.
Incumbent Regional Councillor Joe Li also identifies as Hakka Chinese, has served four consecutive terms, and is seeking re-election for a fifth term. He is currently one of the city’s longest-serving Chinese representatives at the regional level, having served for 16 years, but with the entry of Chiang, Joe Li will no longer be the only Hakka Chinese candidate vying for a seat, which will likely weaken his platform going into the election.
Beyond this likely clash, much of the attention remains focused on Deputy Mayor Michael Chan, who took the position after gaining the most number of votes out of all the regional councillors, but has yet to officially register for this election. As a former Ontario cabinet minister under Premier Kathleen Wynne, he returned to elected office in 2022 when he won a Regional Council seat after previously serving in provincial politics. His decision on whether to seek another term is expected to have a major impact on the composition of the race.
If Chan enters the contest, observers say the Regional Council election could become significantly more competitive, particularly for incumbent Regional Councillor Alan Ho, as well as Joe Li and Paul Chiang, as three seats are expected to be swept up, leaving room for only one. With multiple well-known candidates competing for a limited number of seats, established incumbents could find themselves facing their toughest re-election campaigns in years.
Beyond the Regional Council contests, Ward 3 is open and now has school board trustee Ron Lynn registered to run for councillor, Lynn, a familiar face for voters from Ward 2 and Ward 6, will face the challenge of building voter recognition from the ground up and raising his profile. As for Ward 7, eight months ago it saw a by-election, where Nimisha Patel won after securing 2,954 votes, and in the upcoming municipal election, she will face registered candidate Killi Chelliah once more, who secured 2098 votes in the 2025 by-election.
With the nomination period still underway, several key decisions remain outstanding. Whether Michael Chan enters the race, how the final slate of incumbents and former officeholders shapes up, and which candidates can translate their public profiles into voter support are expected to define one of Markham’s most closely watched municipal elections in recent years.
