Corporate Asset Management

Ontario’s Legislation and Regulation

In 2015, the Province passed the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act with Ontario Regulation 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure filed under this act.

The regulation sets out detailed requirements for municipalities to ensure the long-term sustainability of municipal infrastructure through the preparation of a Strategic Asset Management Policy, a comprehensive Asset Management Plan (AMP) and companion Financial Strategy, phased-in and delivered through 4 milestones, by July 1, 2025: 

• July 1, 2019 – Strategic Asset Management Policy
• July 1, 2022 – Asset Management Plan for core assets, assessed at current service levels,  Financial Summary of operating and capital expenditures
• July 1, 2024 – Asset Management Plan for all assets, assessed at current service levels, Financial Summary of operating and capital expenditures
• July 1, 2025 – Asset Management Plan for all assets assessed at proposed or appropriate service levels, Financial (funding) Strategy
• 2026 onwards – Council shall conduct an annual review of its Asset Management progress and update the Strategic Asset Management Policy and Asset Management Plan every 5 years (at minimum)

For more information, please contact Corporate Asset Management.

City of Markham's Asset Management Journey

Our Asset Management Plan plays an important role in municipal planning. It informs the amount and timing of funding required to maintain, repair or replace assets to ensure their state of good repair. The City uses information from asset management plans, such as condition assessments, to guide work plans, operating and capital budgets and financial strategies. It serves as a decision-making tool for achieving a desired level of service while balancing or minimizing risks. 

2016 Asset Management Plan

In April 2014, as part of the Municipal Funding Agreement renewal for the Federal Gas Tax Funds, it was announced that municipalities must develop Asset Management Plans (AMP) by December 31, 2016. These plans were to be developed in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministry of Infrastructure‘s – Building Together: Guide for Municipal Asset Management Plans II (2012) to be eligible for Federal Gas Tax Funds.

Approved by Council in November 2016, the 2016 Asset Management Plan documents the City’s Asset Management practices and identifies challenges of current and future infrastructure needs. It also includes the City‘s Asset Management Strategy to ensure consistent practices in data collection, decision making, and risk assessment.

Aligned with the City‘s Strategic Plan, Building Markham Future Together (BMFT), and other key strategic documents, including Greenprint, Markham‘s Community Sustainability Plan, and the Official Plan, this Plan:

• Serves as a strategic, tactical, and financial document to guide the City‘s timely investments and optimal resource utilization while ensuring desired levels of service
• Provides sound asset management principles and practices for effective management of the City‘s current and future infrastructure assets particularly; renewing, operating, maintaining, building, replacing and disposing of infrastructure 

2019 Strategic Asset Management Policy and Asset Management Audit

The Asset Management Policy fulfills phase one of Ontario Regulation 588/17:Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure. It states what the City of Markham intends to do and sets out:

• The principles that guide how the practice of Asset Management will be implemented to achieve its objectives
• Aligns with the City’s strategic plans, policies and objectives
• Refer to other key documents such as the Asset Management Strategy, Asset Management Plans and long-term financial plan

To coordinate, develop and implement activities relating to asset management, the Asset Management Steering Committee was established.  

In October 2019, as part of a four-year audit plan, MNP LLP performed an Asset Management Audit of the City’s 2016 Asset Management Plan. It contains the Auditor General’s observations, recommendations and timelines. In October 2020, in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations, Council received a progress update to confirm continuous compliance with Ontario Regulation 588/17. 

2021 Asset Management Plan and Enterprise Asset Management Implementation

Approved by Council in September 2021, the 2021 Asset Management Plan ensures the City remains in compliance with Ontario Regulation 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure. This Plan refines the strategies and practices that the City adopted to provide the set level of financially sustainable services to its community. It also explains how these services will be provided, the details of the current state of municipal infrastructure assets, and the funding required for its execution over a set period of time. The City of Markham has also included its 25-year financial strategy in this Plan.  

To further assist with the City’s asset management capabilities, a robust and comprehensive Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software was implemented for inventory control, work order management, asset life-cycle analysis and reporting. It has the ability to meet current customer expectations and expand to meet future demands of the business as their needs continue to evolve.

2024 Asset Management Plan

The City of Markham’s 2024 Asset Management Plan was approved by Council in October 2024. This Plan further refines the asset management practices and processes undertaken by the City to provide essential municipal services to its residents and businesses. It describes how the City maintains all City-owned assets that support these services in a state of good repair and their required financial projections (minimum 10 years). This Plan fulfills phase three of Ontario Regulation 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure.

The Corporate Asset Management Strategy & Governance Framework is designed to meet the City’s strategic goals and objectives, and to ensure that its assets provide levels of service in a sustainable way, while managing risk, at the lowest cost of ownership. This project is currently underway. 

2025 Asset Management Plan and Financial Strategy

In June 2025, Council approved the City of Markham’s 2025 Asset Management Plan and Financial Strategy, fulfilling the fourth phase and final requirements of Ontario Regulation 588.17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure. This Plan builds off of previously endorsed plans. It is the multi-disciplinary guide that considers all City strategies and regulatory and community-based business drivers. It documents the evaluation of all known assets owned and managed by the City including:  

• An assessment of the current state of the infrastructure;
• An assessment of current service and performance levels and their required lifecycle activities;
• Identification of any funding shortfalls or gaps related to maintaining current service and performance levels;
• An assessment of proposed and/or future service levels and their respective funding requirements;
• A financial summary compiling previously noted financial outputs; and
• A financial strategy that outlines how financial resources are allocated to service delivery objectives 

Ongoing regulatory requirements for the City include:

• Updating the Asset Management Policy and Plan every 5 years at minimum; and  
• Council’s annual progress review of the City’s Asset Management Plan implementation, factors impeding the implementation and a strategy to address them