Markham is More: Markham’s Economic Development and Culture Strategy

Chris co-authored “Markham is More,” the City’s integrated Economic Development and Culture Strategy for 2023–2027. The strategy breaks new ground by uniting economic development and cultural planning into a single roadmap—recognizing the critical role of arts and culture in shaping livable cities and attracting top talent. With five strategic goals, the strategy lays out a vision for Markham’s future focused on business growth, innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative economy development.

It also positions the City to capitalize on major developments, including the arrival of York University’s new campus, Canada’s largest semiconductor cluster, and the planned Markham Innovation Exchange (MiX)—a 1,900-acre employment zone for next-generation manufacturing.

View the Strategy.

MPAC Municipal Engagement Strategy

To strengthen municipal relationships and improve service delivery, Chris led the development of MPAC’s first municipal engagement strategy—laying the groundwork for a more proactive, data-informed partnership with Ontario’s 444 municipalities.

The strategy provided a cohesive framework for how MPAC supports municipal partners in managing property assessments, processing new development, and leveraging data to guide planning and service delivery. As part of this work, Chris also oversaw the creation of a dedicated communications approach and the organization’s first CRM system—modernizing how MPAC tracks, analyzes, and responds to municipal needs.

From Concept to Commercialization: A Startup Eco-system Strategy for the City of Toronto

Chris led the development of From Concept to Commercialization—the City of Toronto’s first dedicated strategy to strengthen its startup ecosystem and position the city as a global destination for entrepreneurship.

The five-year strategy outlined a bold vision and actionable framework to support the sustained growth of early-stage companies, expand access to business support infrastructure, and align municipal efforts with private-sector innovation drivers. It provided a clear roadmap for enhancing Toronto’s competitiveness by nurturing the conditions that help entrepreneurs launch, scale, and thrive.

To view the feasibility study visit here.

York Region Commercial Office Market Analysis

As part of York Region’s long-term vision to develop four new downtowns along the Highway 7 and Yonge Street corridors—known as the Centres and Corridors—Chris led a comprehensive economic analysis to assess the Region’s commercial office development potential.

The study examined both the market opportunity and the barriers to attracting office investment within these emerging high-density, mixed-use centres. By benchmarking costs, benefits, and market conditions against comparable office nodes across the Greater Toronto Area, the analysis offered actionable insights into York Region’s competitive position.

The final report provided a suite of policy and program recommendations aimed at strengthening the Region’s value proposition for office development and supporting employment growth in strategic urban nodes.

York Region Broadband Strategy

Chris initiated and project managed the development of the York Region Broadband Strategy which provides a roadmap for improved connectivity for businesses, residents and the public sector in York Region.

The Strategy was developed in partnership with York Region's nine local municipal partners (Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Aurora, King, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury and Georgina).  To assist in developing the Strategy, large and small telecommunications companies were also engaged, including Bell, Rogers and Telus, to help shape the strategy's targets, recommendations and work plan.

The Strategy provides a range of recommended actions focusing on three key areas:

• Education and Advocacy - these actions focus on educating stakeholders on the importance of connectivity to their and the Region's success.
• Municipal Processes - these actions focus on ways municipal processes, such as access agreements and road re-construction projects, can be leveraged to encourage investments in connectivity infrastructure.
• Infrastructure Investments - these actions focus on identifying a range of infrastructure investments to improve connectivity for residents, businesses and the public sector.

To view the strategy visit: www.investinyork.ca/broadband.