Thornhill, Ontario

What Thornhill is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 2,917 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

2,917 businesses on file · 123 trades · 33 sectors · · built from geonet.toronto on 2026-10-07

Businesses2,917
70% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Places of worship27
Franchise brands95
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Thornhill → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density—
Breadth of the base320
broad — 84 industry groups, top three 20.4%
Survival the mix implies56.3%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS60.2%
of which 74.7% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 CA metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
22.2%
390 businesses
Caution
55.7%
978 businesses
Structure decides
22.1%
389 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 99.7% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

No census subdivision is mapped for ca-thornhill in local/census-map.json, so this page carries no census figures. The mapping is kept explicit because Canada has several places called London, Toronto and Kelowna, and attaching the wrong one would put another city's demographics on this page.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Jewish 3 1 8
trade on Bathurst St (2)
Ahavat Yisrael Hebrew School · Chabad Lubavitch Synagogue · Ateret Shalom Hebrew School
Islamic 3 — 1
As Sadiq Islamic Schools · Jaffari Islamic Centre · Islamic Shia Ithna Asheri
German 2 — 1
institutions on Simonston Blvd (2)
German Mills Child Care Center · German Mills Public School
Chinese 1 — 10
trade on Yonge St (4) · Glen Cameron Rd (3)
Richmond Hill Chinese Seniors
Korean 1 1 3
Korean Green Baptist Church
Russian 1 — 1
Russian Library and Info Center
Spanish-speaking 1 — —
School of Spanish
French 1 — —
Louis Honore Frechette French
Ethiopian 1 1 —
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Japanese — — 7
trade on Steeles Ave W (2)
Greek — — 3
Italian — — 3
Thai — — 2
Swiss — — 2
Vietnamese — — 1
Caribbean — — 1
Indigenous — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

Jewish

trade on Bathurst St (2)

German

institutions on Simonston Blvd (2)

Chinese

trade on Yonge St (4) · Glen Cameron Rd (3)
5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 2,917 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Beauty 176 6% hair stylist (103) · dentist (49) · barber (6)
Health 166 5.7% physician (61) · pharmacy (18) · chiro (18) · fitness club (13) · medical clinic (10) · optical (9) · health foods (4) · home healthcare (1)
Dining 151 5.2% restaurant (113) · fast food (26) · pizza (7) · pubs (2) · orchard (1) · steakhouse (1) · diner (1)
Automotive 149 5.1% autos (95) · auto repair (28) · auto parts (9) · tires (3) · motorcycle (1)
Construction 147 5% general contractor (35) · electrician (22) · painting (17) · home builder (13) · plumbing (12) · carpet (11) · heating and cooling (9) · concrete (9)
Living 140 4.8% cleaning (40) · place of worship (27) · daycare (17) · furniture (15) · appliances (11) · janitor (7) · garden (6) · veterinary (6)
Retail 135 4.6% jeweler (29) · gifts (26) · convenience (18) · department store (18) · flowers (16) · photography (13) · toys (5) · antiques (5)
Business 115 3.9% accounting (43) · consulting (24) · association (18) · government (5) · foundation (4) · vending (2) · auction (1) · cemetary (1)
Education 115 3.9% school (81) · garden (9) · library (4) · writing (4)
Tech 97 3.3% computers (85) · telecom (7) · wireless (3)
Finance 93 3.2% insurance (36) · bank (32) · real estate (9) · bankruptcy (2) · loans (1)
Retail Goods 85 2.9% fruit (1)
Living & Home 81 2.8%
Food & Beverage 70 2.4% fruit (5)
Food 63 2.2% baker (24) · grocer (23) · catering (6) · ice cream (6) · seafood (4)
Law 53 1.8% mediator (9) · paralegal (6)
Realty 52 1.8% real estate (47) · bank (2) · realtor (1)
Clothing 52 1.8%
Travel 46 1.6% travel agent (31) · motel (2)
Entertainment 41 1.4% games (11) · video (10) · video producer (7) · amusement (5) · music instruments (4) · aquarium (2) · nightclub (1)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

32 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
Coffee Time coffee 5 300
Second Cup coffee 4 —
Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy 4 927
Tim Hortons coffee 4 2,890
Pet Valu pet 3 300
Petro Canada fuel 3 1,512
Rogers Video video 3 300
Wine Rack liquor 3 160
Cotton Ginny retail 2 —
Enterprise Rent A Car car 2 5,400
Food Basics supermarket 2 114
Mega Wraps deli 2 —
Royal Bank bank 2 —
St. Regis luxuryhotel 2 —
Swiss Chalet fastfood 2 190
Taco Bell tacos 2 5,845
Apple Auto Glass specialty 1 110
Baskin Robbins dessert 1 2,800
Blockbuster Video video 1 5,900
Bulk Barn retail 1 100
Burger King fastfood 1 11,000
CAA Travel travel 1 —
Canadian Tire retail 1 455
Country Style coffee 1 400
Curves For Women fitness 1 10,000
Dairy Queen fastfood 1 5,900
Danier Leather retail 1 —
East Side Marios food 1 100
Fitness Depot fitness 1 40
Fitness Source fitness 1 9
Flight Centre travel 1 1,500
Great Canadian Bagel deli 1 48
Hasty Market convenience 1 150
Herbal Magic health 1 315
Hertz Rent A Car car 1 7,000
Hilton Garden Inn businesshotel 1 —
Ho-Lee-Chow fastfood 1 17
Holt Renfrew retail 1 12
Jean Machine retail 1 —
Laura Secord dessert 1 —
Mega Image supermarket 1 16
Mr. Lube auto 1 88
Mr. Sub deli 1 475
NAPA Auto Parts auto 1 18,000
New York Fries fastfood 1 185
Oxford Learning school 1 140
Pickle Barrel food 1 9
Pier 1 Imports retail 1 1,200
Pizza Hut pizza 1 10,000
Print Three post 1 58
Rent-A-Wreck car 1 —
Sign-A-Rama specialty 1 800
Sketchley Cleaners cleaner 1 50
Sports Authority retail 1 400
Sports World retail 1 —
Sunglass Hut retail 1 —
Sylvan Learning school 1 710
Things Engraved retail 1 —
Thomas Cook travel 1 700
Town Shoes retail 1 26
Toys "R" Us retail 1 1,400
U-Haul car 1 13,700
Wild Birds Unlimited retail 1 307
Limited name only retail 32 —
Sears name only inc 4 2,300
AllState name only insurance 3 —
ScotiaBank name only bank 3 —
Starbucks name only coffee 3 3,500
Fossil name only retail 2 —
Gymboree name only retail 2 550
Jacob name only retail 2 200
Nissan name only auto 2 —
Safeway name only supermarket 2 1,767
Sobeys name only supermarket 2 224
Aldo name only retail 1 —
CarStar name only auto 1 120
Cartier name only retail 1 —
CIBC name only bank 1 —
Diana name only supermarket 1 3
Esprit name only retail 1 —
Fabricland name only retail 1 170
Hallmark name only greetingcards 1 5,600
HSBC name only bank 1 —
Kernels name only dessert 1 —
LCBO name only spirits 1 600
LensCrafters name only specialty 1 890
Mitsubishi name only auto 1 —
MMMuffins name only coffee 1 —
Progressive name only supermarket 1 150
Roots name only retail 1 145
Stitches name only retail 1 —
Tiffany name only retail 1 150
Toyota name only car 1 —
Volkswagen name only — 1 —
YMCA name only fitness 1 —
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
60 firms · LQ 1.48

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • Alan Newton Real Estate — 370 Steeles Ave W
  • Ascot Mansions — 2100 John St
  • Cyr Financing — 300 John St
  • Durham Mortgage Capital — 244 Henderson Ave
  • Elljay Condo Management — 7411 Yonge St
  • Hilton Realty — 3 Cobblestone Dr
  • Jardine Hills Realty — 505 Highway 7 E
  • Katirai Taymour Real Estate — 8500 Leslie St
  • Lake Aquitaine Investments — 505 Highway 7 E
  • Leasing Group — 95 West Beaver Creek
  • Prosperity Land Realty — 2900 Steeles Ave E
  • Signature Realty — 100 Steeles Ave W
  • Tradeworld Realty — 300 John St
  • Willow Pond — 8199 Yonge St

Owning and letting

5311
5 firms · LQ 0.36

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • Annswell Court Senior Citizens — 25 Thornhill Summit Dr
  • Damis Properties — 110 Inverlochy Blvd
  • Glen Park Apartments — 7411 Yonge St
  • Participation House Apartment — 49 Green Lane
  • St Lukes Lodge — 49 Green Lane

Managing for owners

5313
2 firms · LQ 1.96

Property managers, who run buildings the landlord does not.

Named in the register
  • Holl Restoration — 62 Weeping Willow Lane
  • Nulook Renovations and Rstrtn — 55 Glen Cameron Rd

Building new homes

2361
48 firms · LQ 1.44

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • ampreedko — 1 Commerce Valley Dr E
  • Carpet Gallery — 201 Spinnaker Way
  • Commerce Aluminum Bldg Product — 41 Palmerston Dr
  • Darcom Construction — 8600 Keele
  • Del Mechanical Services — 79 Chilmar Crescent
  • Delmar Homes — 200 Edgeley
  • J Stollar Construction — 1200 Centre St
  • Jeff Goldberg Consultants — 3 Cricket Hollow
  • lancon construction ltd — 410 Chrislea Rd
  • Menkes Developments — 735 New Westminster Drive
  • Millwood Homes — 300 John St
  • Renovation World — 133 Ramblewood Lane
  • Sanbury Homes — 19 Arlington Way
  • Strongland Construction Limited — 1 Promenade Circle

Financing it

5222
1 firms · LQ 0.36

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • Trans Canada Credit — 398 Steeles Ave W

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 81daycare 17
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics10
Pharmacies18
Dental practices49

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • Coulters Mill Health Center — 1450 Clark Ave W
  • John Street Animal Hospital — 2300 John St
  • Sangsters Health Center — 2900 Steeles Ave E
  • Centre Street Animal Hospital — 7700 Bathurst St
  • Head To Toes Health Center — 1054 Centre St

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

11

Mayor & politics

Who holds office here and who is asking to, from the official lists on /politics: the council, the riding’s Member of Parliament and the provincial member. Each name opens its row there.

Mayor
12 on council
Member of Parliament
Melissa Lantsman ✉️ · Conservative
Thornhill
Member of Provincial Parliament
Laura Smith · Conservative
Thornhill
On the ballot
29 candidates
votes 2026-10-26

Everyone who represents Thornhill, and everyone running →

Realtors in Markham — the brokerages and licensed agents to call → (Thornhill is served from Markham)

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • No census figures on this page: this region is not mapped to a census subdivision in local/census-map.json, so the community counts here are business-register institutions, which is a different measurement and cannot substitute for a population.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 30.1% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 94.4%.

Built from

  • geonet.toronto — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands