Meet Alan Ho

 

Alan immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong back in 1987.  He has lived and worked in Markham for more than thirty years with his wife Alice and his two sons.   He is a proud alumnus of York University and has a Business degree.  First elected to the Markham Council in 2010, Alan is now serving his 4th term as a Markham Councillor.  In this capacity, he has chaired numerous Markham Council committees over his 16  years and is presently chairing the Markham Culture and Economic Development Committee.  He helps to bridge business relationships between Markham and global investors and is a tireless promoter of the City of Markham.  He is also known as being very responsive to his constituents’ individual concerns.
 
He has owned and operated a company he started with Alice for over thirty years, specializing in garment manufacturing and wholesaling.  When Alan became a city councillor 16 years ago, Alice stepped in and took the reins.  Nonetheless, having operated this successful business for so many years, Alan is more than equipped to manage the challenges of balancing budgets, negotiating with stakeholders, and reconciling differing perspectives to create the right solution.
 
Alan has a passion for community service that started years before becoming a city councillor.  He has helped raise funds for many non-profit organizations, including the Centre For Immigrants And Community Services, Cherish Integrated Services Inc. (an agency serving the developmentally handicapped population), Markham Stouffville Hospital, Markham Food Bank and many seniors organizations.  This has given him tremendous insight into and understanding of the diverse needs in our communities.
 
Before being elected to the Markham Council in 2010, Alan has served in a range of volunteer capacities in various government, community, and charity organizations and committees.
 
To name a few, Alan has been:
- President of the Centre for Information and Community Services of Ontario (CICS) (2008), 
- President of the Markham-Unionville Rotary Club (2009), 
- Vice-Chair of the Toronto Police 42nd Division Chinese Community Liaison Committee (2008-2010), 
- Director of the Scouts Canada Foundation (2009-2015)
 
Due to his commitment to serving the people, both communities and governments acknowledged Alan and showed their appreciation by presenting Alan with many awards, for example :
- Recipient of the International Year of Volunteers in 2001 by the Federal Government
- Certificate of Appreciation for Volunteering in 2003 by the Federal Government
- World Baden-Powell Fellow in 2010 by Scouts Canada
- Recipient of  RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants  in 2011
- Paul Harris Fellow in 2012 and 2017 by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International

- Recipient of Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Pin in 2022

- Recipient of King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025

Committee Involvement (2023 - 2026)
Standing Committees

• Markham Council

• General Committee

• Development Services Committee (Chair, Culture & Economic Development)

Sub-Committees of Council

• Markham Sub-Committee (Chair)

Advisory & Statutory Boards and Committees

• Markham Small Business Centre

• Markham Enterprises Corporation

• York Audit Committee

• York Housing Inc.

• York Accessibility Committee