About Us

The Markham Mayor’s Youth Task Force

The MYTF is a branch of the Markham Council run by youth. It is comprised of youth, Markham Councilors and the Mayor of Markham.  The purpose of the MYTF is to provide local youth a voice by which they may give input and develop initiatives to enhance youth opportunities within the Town of Markham. Do you have something you’d like to see available for yourself and your fellow youth in Markham? Drop us a line at: here

Our Mandate:

1. The Task Force shall act in an advisory capacity, provide advice on issues of concern to youth.
2. The Task Force shall act in an advocacy role, provide new ideas and views to council and staff.
3. The Task Force shall raise awareness in the community through planned events (e.g. Youth Week, Youth Forums, Youth Job Fair, etc.).
4. The Task Force shall encourage youth participation within the community.

History & Accomplishments:

In 1994, Mayor Don Cousens decided it was time to better meet the needs of the growing youth population in Markham. He wanted to hear what youth had to say about Markham – what issues are they concerned with, and whether or not the town was providing them with enough employment and recreation opportunities. The result was the Mayor’s Youth Task Force, formed for the purpose of providing local youth a voice to provide input and develop initiatives to enhance youth opportunities within the Town of Markham. Shortly after, four Local Area Youth Councils were formed – one for each area of Markham (Milliken, Markham Village, Unionville and Thornhill). The purpose of the area councils is provide local youth an opportunity to give back to their community by planning events, volunteering for various community initiatives and even doing community clean-ups.

The Mayor’s Youth Task Force gets involved in many initiatives such as celebrating international youth week on an annual basis, organizing youth related conferences and events. Here are some highlights of the Task Force’s accomplishments in recent years:

• Planned exciting events for youth during the annual Youth Week (each year’s National Youth Week falls on the first weekend of May.) , such as Battle of the Bands, Stomp the Yard Competition, the Markham Amazing Race and etc.
• Published and distributed the semi-annual Markham Youth Newsletter throughout Markham high schools and elementary schools to educate the youth of Markham about events, opportunities, and issues of importance.
• Organized 2009 Markham Arts Conference with interactive workshops from the Canadian Theatre Company, the Ontario Art Gallery and Vybe Dance International.
• Created an Annual Youth Award. The youth award was developed as a means to give recognition to youth within the town who are actively involved in the community events and affairs. Each year, eight students are presented with an award (two recipients from each of Markham’s four communities).

Submit your application for appointment to the Mayor’s Youth Task Force.   Apply Now!