Oakville is a town and lower-tier municipality in Halton Region,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Generally seen as a

commuter suburb A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, it is located on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

between Toronto and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

the town had a population of 213,759, with an estimated 233,700 people as of 2024, making it Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

, the largest urban area in Canada.

History

In 1793,

Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...

was surveyed for a military road. In 1805, the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Li ...

bought the lands between

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

and

from the indigenous

Mississaugas The Mississaugas are a group of First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are a sub-group of the Ojibwe Nation. Etymology The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning " hose at theGr ...

people, except for the land at the mouths of Twelve Mile Creek (Bronte Creek), Sixteen Mile Creek, and along the

Credit River The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately . The total l ...

. In 1807, British immigrants settled the area surrounding Dundas Street as well as on the shore of

. In 1820, the Crown bought the area surrounding the waterways. The area around the creeks, , ceded to the Crown by the Mississaugas, was auctioned off to William Chisholm in 1827. He left the development of the area to his son, Robert Kerr Chisholm, and his brother-in-law, Merrick Thomas. Chisholm also formed shipbuilding business in Oakville Navy Street and Sixteen Mile Creek and lasted until 1842, but shipbuilding in Oakville lasted into the late 20th century. The population in 1846 was 1,500. The community shipped large quantities of wheat and lumber via schooners and the railway. There were three churches, a grist mill and saw mill, and various small companies making threshing machines, wagons, watches, saddles, and metal goods. There were also tradesmen of various types. Oakville Town Square 2023

Oakville's industries also included shipbuilding. In the 1850s, there was an economic recession and the foundry, the most important industry in town, was closed. Basket-making became a major industry in the town, and the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

was built through it. In 1869, the population was 2,000. The community was served by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

and it was a port on Lake Ontario. The town eventually became industrialized with the opening of Cities Service Canada (later

BP Canada BP Canada was a Canadian petroleum company and subsidiary of BP, British Petroleum that existed between 1955 and 1992. The name refers to a group of companies that engaged in various segments of the petroleum industry lifecycle. BP entered the Can ...

, and now

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada (colloquially known as Petro-Can) is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor En ...

) and

Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited () is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a major part of its business, as ...

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied pet ...

(both now closed), the

Procor Procor is a Canadian company producing railway shipping cars. It is Canada's largest private rail car rental fleet, with more than 30,000 conventional and special-purpose tank and freight cars. Linked to Sparling Tank Car of Toronto, Procor w ...

factory (no longer manufacturing), and, most importantly, the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

's Canadian headquarters and

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

, all close to the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

and the Queen Elizabeth Way highway between Toronto and Fort Erie (Buffalo). In 1962, the town of Oakville merged with its neighbouring villages ( Bronte, Palermo, Sheridan, and the remainder of

Trafalgar Township Trafalgar Township was a township in Ontario, Canada. It today forms parts of Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills and Mississauga. Named after Cape Trafalgar where Horatio Nelson led the English fleet to victory over the Spanish and French at the B ...

) to become the new Town of Oakville, reaching northwards to

Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Running from Appleby Line in Milton in the west to the Scarborough-Pickering Townline in the east, where it continue ...

in Milton. In 1973, the restructuring of Halton County into Halton Region brought the northern border southwards to just north of the future Highway 407.

Underground Railroad

Oakville has a long and important role in Black Canadian historical narratives. The town is one of the many

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

Station Stops established along the Canada-U.S.A border. The town served as a location for fugitive enslaved Black people to escape the slavery of America and establish themselves. This population were very influential in establishing the town's prosperous economy.

Geography

Neighbourhoods

Oakville's Planning Department divides the town into communities. These are based on traditional neighbourhoods.

Climate

Like much of Southern Ontario, Oakville has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

straddling Dfa/Dfb classifications, with cold winters with frequent snowfall, and warm summers. Like most lakeside municipalities on the Great Lakes, there are varying temperatures within town boundaries, generally warmer days further from the lake, the exception being on the colder days in winter.

Demographics

In the

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Oakville had a population of 213,759 living in 73,558 of its 76,179 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 193,832. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. According to the 2021 census, the median age in the town is 41.6 years. 18% of the population is under 15 years of age, 66.3% is between 15 and 64 years, and 15.7% is 65 and over. In 2016, immigrants made up 35.9% of the population. The top 10 places of birth of the immigrant population were the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(11%),

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(9.3%),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(7.6%),

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(4.2%),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(3.8%),

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(3.7%), the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(3.4%),

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

(3.3%),

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(3.1%), and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(2.9%).

Language

The most common mother tongues among the population in 2021 were English (57.4%), Mandarin (7.0%), Arabic (3.5%), Spanish (2.3%), and Urdu (2.2%).

Ethnicity

The 2016 census found the most reported ethnocultural background to be

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(68.5%), followed by

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

(8.9%), Chinese (7%),

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

(3.2%),

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(2.9%), Filipino (1.9%),

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

(1.9%),

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

(1.6%),

West Asian West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

(1.1%), and other backgrounds. Aboriginals make up 0.7% the population: 0.4% First Nations and 0.3%

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

Religion

According to the 2011 census, 70.1% of the population identify as

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, with

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(37.9%) making up the largest denomination, followed by

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

(7.6%),

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...

(7.3%), and other denominations. Others identify as

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(4%),

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

(2.1%),

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

(1.4%),

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

(0.8%),

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

(0.5%) and with other religions, and 20.6% of the population report no religious affiliation.

Economy

The top employers in Oakville include: Tim Hortons corporate headquarters - 01

Employers

Sagen MI Canada (TSX:MIC),

Algonquin Power & Utilities Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is a Canadian regulated utility company with assets across North America, Bermuda, and Chile. Algonquin provides water, wastewater, natural gas, and electricity services through its operating subsidiaries: Libert ...

, Canadian Tire Financial Services,

Cameron's Brewing Company Cameron's Brewing Company is a brewery in Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Genera ...

, Equirex,

Pelmorex Pelmorex Corp. is a Canadian weather information and media company. Based in Oakville, Ontario, it is the owner of the Canadian specialty channels The Weather Network (English) and MétéoMédia (French), and their associated digital properties. ...

, and

Rockstar Toronto Rockstar Toronto (Rockstar Games Toronto ULC; formerly Imagexcel, Alternative Reality Technologies, and Rockstar Canada) is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Oakville, Ontario. The company was established a ...

are based in Oakville, while

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

, The Ford Motor Company, and MADD Canada have their head Canadian offices in the town. Many Oakville residents work in advanced manufacturing at large facilities operated by

UTC Aerospace Systems UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) was one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The company was formed in August 2012 when parent United Technologies Corporatio ...

and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

. Many Oakville companies fall under the life science umbrella, with an emphasis on

pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

and

elder care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs of old adults. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called residential care), hos ...

. There are also a number of retirement homes in the city. As Oakville is considered part of the

it is common for residents to commute to jobs in

Arts and culture

Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts

The

Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts is a municipally run multi-use facility which opened in downtown Oakville, Ontario, Canada in 1977. The Oakville Centre was built to provide Oakville residents with a place to learn about themselves and ...

houses several performances by local and international artists. It is also the performing venue for the Oakville Symphony Orchestra, the Oakville Children's Choir and the Oakville Ballet Company. The Oakville Arts Council provides further artistic talents in the town showcasing films, literary figures and visual arts.

The Oakville Children's Choir

The Oakville Children's Choir has been in business since 1994.

Oakville Galleries

Oakville Galleries is a not-for-profit art museum that exhibits contemporary art, cares for a permanent collection and delivers public programming. Its exhibition spaces are located on two sites: Gairloch Gardens and Centennial Square.

Events

Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival

The Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival is an annual summer jazz festival established in 1992. The event includes performances at a number of stages along Lakeshore Road in downtown Oakville. The event is free to the public.

Waterfront Festival

Beginning in 1982, Oakville's Coronation Park played host to the annual Oakville Waterfront Festival. Among a range of events, the festival included small amusement park rides, arts and crafts, food and drinks, free concerts headlined by Canadian bands, and nightly fireworks displays. The Waterfront Festival took place in late June of each year until 2010, when it was cancelled due to financial difficulties, despite having annual attendance of up to 100,000 visitors. It returned in August 2013, which was the most recent festival to date.

Kerrfest

Kerrfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place in early September in Oakville. Having begun in 2014, the event includes free performances and is open to the public, located at Westwood Park.

For the Love of the Arts Festival

The For the Love of the Arts Festival is an annual event taking place in the late spring in Oakville. Inaugurated in 2002, the event is hosted by CommUnity Arts Space (originally known as Music and Art Shared Space who initiated the festival), a local umbrella group advocating for shared physical space for Oakville's arts and cultural groups. Currently the only such multi-disciplinary community festival of its kind in Oakville, the event serves to showcase local talent, skills, crafts, literary art, dance performances, theatre groups and music performances. The event is intended as a symbolic presentation of a "shared space" and is entirely sponsored by local corporate and private donations.

Northeast Oakville Fair

The Northeast Oakville Fair is an annual event that takes place toward the end of spring across from the Iroquois Ridge Community Centre. The fair brings together local businesses, inflatables, food trucks, hot air balloon rides, family activities, and a DJ that's free and open to the public.

Shopping

Oakville Place is an indoor shopping mall in Oakville that opened in 1981. The mall is approximately .

Sports

Athletics

The Oakville Half Marathon is an annual

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

event held in Shell Park, with sub-events in 10K, 5K, and 2K Fun Run/Walk.

Golf

Glen Abbey Golf Course Glen Abbey Golf Club is a public golf course in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Canada's most famous golf courses and is home to Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. It has hosted 30 Canadian Open Championships, more than an ...

is located in Oakville. Designed by

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

, the course has hosted 30 Canadian Open championships since it opened in 1977, and both Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame are located there. In 2018, the owner, Clublink, planned to demolish the golf course in order to build residential and commercial properties. In 2021, following objections from the community and municipal government, Clublink withdrew its development plan and stated it would continue operating Glen Abbey as a golf course.

Soccer

Oakville SC is semi-professional and youth soccer club that competes in

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

. Oakville boasts over 60 soccer fields and a Soccer Club Facility with a two-star, full-size, FIFA-Certified indoor soccer pitch.

Lacrosse

Oakville is home to the headquarters and practice facilities of the

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. The Rock play their home ga ...

professional box lacrosse team competing in the National Lacrosse League. Oakville is also home to the 3rd largest minor lacrosse association in Ontario: The Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association has more than 1,500 players and competes in multiple classes and multiple divisions. The town also has the Oakville Buzz, a Junior "A"

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

team who won the

Founders Cup The Founders' Cup is the championship trophy of Canada's Junior "B" lacrosse leagues. The custodial duties of this trophy fall upon the Lacrosse Canada (LC). The national champions are determined through a round robin format with a play-down f ...

in 2006. The current rep lacrosse team is the Oakville Hawks.

Hockey

The

Oakville Blades The Oakville Blades are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. History The Blades started as a Junior C team, and made it to the Clarence Schmalz Cup Final once to comp ...

is a Tier II Junior "A" franchise since 1966, and a "AAA" hockey system. The current rep hockey team for boys in Oakville is the Oakville Rangers. For girls, there is the Oakville Hornets.

Skating

Skate Oakville, which is headquartered at Oakville's Sixteen Mile Creek Sports Complex, was recently the largest skating club in Canada, providing learn to skate lessons, recreational figure skating programs, competitive training, and 10 synchronized skating teams.

Baseball

Baseball is represented in Oakville by two organizations: Oakville Little League and the OMBA (Oakville Minor Baseball Association). Oakville Little League is the largest Little League organization in Canada. In 2018, there were over 1,150 young people playing across eight divisions and over 90 teams, including seven All-Star teams. Oakville Little League also fields six All-Star (Rep) teams, known as the Oakville Whitecaps. The 12U and 14U Whitecaps teams compete annually to play in the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...

and Junior League World Series, respectively. The OMBA (Oakville Minor Baseball Association) was established in 1963. It offers three levels of baseball to children and youth in Oakville: House League, Select and Rep. OMBA runs the Oakville A's, the official Town Rep baseball playing in the Central Ontario Baseball Association (COBA) system.

Swimming

Competitive swimming in Oakville is represented by two organizations: Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK) and Dolphins Swim Club. Oakville Aquatic Club is affiliated with Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario. OAK offers four levels of swimming based on age and skill: Acorns, Mini Oaks, Development, and Performance. Lake Ontario Swim Team (L.O.S.T.) is an open-water swim team founded in 2006 by Rob Kent while he was training for his

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

attempt. The team meets every Saturday morning from June to mid-September at Oakville Harbour. As of 2019, it had over 200 swimmers. The LOST Race, organized by L.O.S.T. members since 2008, is an annual 3.8 km race (Ironman distance) from Edgemere Promenade to Oakville Harbour.

Canoeing

Burloak Canoe Club is located in Oakville. Three Olympians,

Adam van Koeverden Adam Joseph van Koeverden (born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian sprint kayaker, olympic gold medallist, and politician serving since 2025 as the Secretary of State for Sport in Prime Minister Mark Carney's Cabinet. A member of the Liberal ...

Mark Oldershaw Mark Oldershaw (born February 7, 1983) is a Canadian canoe racing, sprint canoeist. Oldershaw won the bronze medal in the C-1 1000 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He is a third generation Canadian Olympic canoer, fifth family member ...

and

Larry Cain Laurence J. Cain, (born January 9, 1963) is a Canadian sprint canoeist. He was the first Canadian canoeist since Frank Amyot to win an Olympic gold medal in canoeing. Early life Cain was born in Toronto, Ontario. He attended Oakville Trafalga ...

, trained at the club.

Government

Municipal and regional

At the municipal level, the governing body is the Oakville Town Council consisting of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(currently Rob Burton) and fourteen

councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

. The town is divided into seven wards, with two councillors elected by residents of each ward. In each ward, one councillor represents the ward solely on the Oakville Town Council, and the other is a member of the 21-member governing council of the

Regional Municipality of Halton The Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton H ...

, in addition to being a member of the 14-member Town Council.

Provincial

Two provincial ridings are situated in Oakville, which use the same boundaries as the federal ridings and are currently represented provincially by: * Oakville: Stephen Crawford (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

) * Oakville North-Burlington: Effie Triantafilopoulos (Conservative)

Federal

Two federal ridings are situated in Oakville, which are currently represented by: * Oakville:

Anita Anand Indira Anita Anand (born May 20, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer, academic, and politician who has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada), minister of Foreign Affairs since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, ...

( Liberal) * Oakville North-Burlington: Pam Damoff (Liberal)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transit

Local bus service is provided by

Oakville Transit Oakville Transit is the public transportation provider in Oakville, Ontario, Oakville, Ontario, Canada since 1972. It is a department of the town and a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association. It offers the typical conventional Bus#Touris ...

with some bus lines extending as far as Highway 407 & Dundas Carpool Lot in Burlington and South Common Centre in Mississauga. Its bus services are focused on servicing passengers using the

Lakeshore West line Lakeshore West is one of the GO Transit rail services, seven passenger lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station (Toronto), Union Station in Toronto to Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, ...

from four different GO stations within or near Oakville.

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

commuter rail and bus service operate from Bronte GO and Oakville GO stations.

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

operates services along the line as part of the

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor () is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the -long region extends from Quebec City in the northeast to Windsor, Ontario in the southwest. With more tha ...

, and operates from Oakville station.

Roads and highways

Several major roads and highways go through Oakville: * * ** The Queen Elizabeth Way and Ontario Highway 403 run concurrently throughout most of Oakville. * * (Bronte Road) *

* Lakeshore Road (West/East) * Trafalgar Road * Dorval Drive * Neyagawa Boulevard * Winston Churchill Boulevard (Boundary with the City of Mississauga & Peel Region) * Burloak Drive (Boundary with the City of Burlington) * William Halton Parkway ** Section of new road between Third Line and Neyagawa Boulevard is currently under construction.

Emergency services

Law enforcement in Oakville is performed by the

Halton Regional Police Service The Halton Regional Police Service provides policing service for the Regional Municipality of Halton, which is located southwest of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Halton Region encompasses the city of Burlington and the Towns of Oakville, Milton ...

. Fire service is provided by the Oakville Fire Department with its nine fire stations. The Town of Oakville's Waters Air Rescue Force is a volunteer organization that provides marine search and rescue service in Western Lake Ontario. It was founded in 1954 and was a charter member of the

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA; , ''GCAC'') is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue (SAR) and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspi ...

Education

Trafalgar Campus of Sheridan College 2023

Elementary schools and high schools in Oakville are a mix of private and public schools, with one of the highest ratios of private schools to student population in the country. Oakville is covered by the Halton District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board,

Conseil scolaire Viamonde The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary school ...

, and

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (also referred to as Csc MonAvenir) is a French-language Catholic school board that manages elementary and secondary French schools in South-Central Ontario. The school board operates 47 elementary schools, 12 ...

. St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School (Oakville) and White Oaks Secondary School both offer the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

Program. The town is home to

Appleby College Appleby College is an international independent school (grades 7–12) located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1911 by John Guest, a former Headmaster of the Preparatory School at Upper Canada College. Guest dreamed of establishing a sma ...

, a private school for grades seven to twelve, established in 1911 as well as

St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School (commonly referred to as just St. Mildred's and abbreviated to SMLS) is an independent school, independent single-sex education, all-girls school in Oakville, Ontario, Oakville, Ontario, Canada with approximately 55 ...

, an independent all-girls school. Oakville is also home to the Trafalgar Campus of

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...

, primarily an arts and business studies institute, and Oakville's only higher education facility.

Media

Oakville is primarily served by media based in Toronto with markets in the

(GTA) that cover most of the news in the GTA. One regional newspaper, the ''Oakville Beaver'', is published once weekly. The monthly magazines ''Neighbours of Joshua Creek'', ''Neighbours of Glen Abbey'' and ''Neighbours of Olde Oakville'' serve three key neighbourhoods. The town is also served by Oakvillenews.org, a locally owned online daily newsletter and website. The town also has two specialty radio stations: AM 1250

CJYE CJYE is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 1250 AM in Oakville, Ontario. The station airs a Christian music and talk format branded as ''Joy Radio''. CJYE's studios are located on Church Street in downtown Oakville, while its transmitters ...

, a

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

station and AM 1320

CJMR CJMR is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts multicultural programming at AM 1320. Although officially licensed to Mississauga, Ontario, it currently broadcasts from studios in Oakville. CJMR's studios are located on Church Street in down ...

, a

Multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

station. The following national cable television station also broadcast from Oakville: *

The Weather Network The Weather Network (TWN) is a Canadian English-language discretionary weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, digital platforms (respon ...

has broadcast nationally from Oakville since 2005. * The Hamilton-based television station

CHCH-DT CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located ...

serves

, the

regional municipalities A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. Reg ...

of Halton and Niagara, thus including Oakville. CHCH recently closed its Halton Bureau (due to budget considerations) which was located in downtown Oakville. * YourTV from the studio in the

Cogeco Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications and media company. Its corporate offices are located at 1 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec. The company is structured into three strategic business units (SBU); Cogeco Connexion, Breezeline (p ...

headquarters at Harvester Road & Burloak Drive, just inside of Burlington.

Sister cities

Oakville is twinned with the following cities: *

Dorval Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada (1957) ** Dorval Drive in Oakville named after this city. *

Neyagawa file:Neyagawa-greencity-for-wiki.JPG, 270px, Neyagawa Green City is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 228,802 in 111,545 households and a population density of 9,300 persons per k ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan (April 6, 1984) ** Neyagawa Boulevard in Oakville named after this city. ** Apartment complex in Neyagawa named after Oakville. *

Huai'an ) , leader_title1 = , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = , leader_title3 = , leader_name3 = , leader_title4 = , leader_name4 = , established_title = ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China (June, 2015)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Towns in Ontario 1827 establishments in Canada Populated places established in 1827 Underground Railroad locations in Canada