If you’re looking for a quiet, tight-knit community near Toronto, Oakville is the place for you.
The Town of Oakville is a delightful and bustling community. It is located between Mississauga and Burlington, on the shore of Lake Ontario.
In this post, we will outline some of the features that make the town an attractive place to live and do business.
Oakville’s History
Establishment and Shipping
In the 1820s, a man named William Chisholm had the vision to found a town. He chose the area south of the newly-constructed Dundas Street at the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek to be the site of his visionary community.
Within ten years, pioneering settlers built piers, dredged the harbour, set up a shipbuilding yard, and established both a grist and saw mill.
By 1846, the town was a prosperous shipping hub with a population of more than 500. Tradespeople shipped considerable amounts of wheat, timber, and other goods from the town’s harbour. Growth was underway.
Oakville also contained many warehouses to store goods. Its residents owned 12 schooners which carried goods throughout the Great Lakes, spurring further development.
Strawberry Capital of Canada
With the arrival of the railroad, the harbour’s importance faded.
Oakville’s economy began to transform. Farmers moved away from wheat to growing fruits, especially strawberries.
At the turn of the century, Oakville was known as the strawberry capital of Canada. This economic shift set the precedent for future transformations of the regions economy and demographics.
Arrival of Ford Motor Company
From the earliest days of its history, manufacturing has been a staple of Oakville’s economy.
First, it was shipbuilding. Next, with the arrival of fruit growing in the area, basket manufacturing became a major local employer.
Then, in 1953, the Ford Motor Company opened a manufacturing facility. The new plant marked a transition to a more industrialized economy and remains an important employer to this day.
In 1974, Oakville’s municipal boundaries took the form they maintain to this day. It increasingly became a bedroom community.
People enjoyed the space, comfort, and sense of neighbourhood that come with living in a town, while also having excellent access to Toronto and the rest of the GTA.
Overview
Despite having a population of 193,832, Oakville is designated as a town. Even though it has grown to a large size, Oakville remains a town in fact and in spirit.
The variety and multitude of business in Oakville indicate that the businesses community has recognized that Oakville is an excellent place to operate.
Many businesses both big and small have been attracted by its population base and access to the GTA. Some major employers in the town include: Sheridan College, Ford Motor Company, UTC Aerospace Systems, among others.
Oakville also has plenty to offer in terms of recreation, especially for lovers of the outdoors. Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario, residents have many opportunities for taking part in aquatic past times. The Halton Region to the north also features many chances for outdoor recreation.
These qualities have attracted people from all over the world. There are large communities of South Asian, Chinese, and Arab Canadians.
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Real Estate in Oakville
Oakville is the ideal place for families who are looking for a friendly community.
Although Oakville may not be a world-class metropolis like nearby Toronto, the big city is conveniently accessible. Regardless what type of real estate you are looking for in Oakville, there are options available here. Housing types range from condominiums and row houses, to single-detached homes.
The single-detached house is the most common type of home in the town. These homes are spacious, with more than 50,000 of them having three or more bedrooms.
In recent years, construction has been brisk. Since the year 2000, more than 20,000 homes have been built in Oakville. If you are curious about real estate in Oakville, you will find that newly built, private, and large houses are commonly available.
Thinking of buying or selling in Oakville? Check our Oakville real estate listings or contact our team to discuss your real estate goals. We’ll put 30 years of experience to work in helping you make your real estate dreams come true.
Shopping
If you are a shopping lover, Oakville has a variety of exciting shopping opportunities available. Its home to a number of both indoor and outdoor shopping centres.
The largest shopping centre is Oakville Place, a mall which is home to 140 stores.
Located near the intersection of Upper Middle Road and Trafalgar Road, the Upper Oakville Shopping Centre also features assorted shopping and dining fare.
Another convenient outdoor shopping spot is the South Oakville Centre. Located at the corner of Third Line and Rebecca Street, this retail centre has a range of stores, services, and eateries.
Other shopping venues in the town include, the Bronte Village Mall, Trafalgar Village, and Riocan Centre Burlock.
With an abundance of local options, commuting to nearby Square One in Mississauga would only be necessary for a change of scenery.
With that said, nearby Mississauga offers some of the best shopping in Canada. The Erin Mills Town Centre and the Square One Town Centre are only a short drive away.
If you are looking for a shopping experience beyond shopping centres, Oakville has a lovely downtown “main street” shopping area near the lake. Downtown Oakville offers unique local retailers, services, and restaurants in a pleasant and historic setting.
Recreation
There’s no shortage of ways to spend your time in Oakville. With the large amount of recreation choices in the town, boredom probably isn’t something which bothers most residents.
Recreation Centres
There are many recreation facilities in the town that offer programs and facilities for residents to take advantage of.
The community centres feature amenities like swimming pools, gymnasiums, fitness studios, sports courts, and ice rinks. The three largest community centres are Glen Abbey Community Centre, Iroquois Ridge Community Centre, and Oakville Trafalgar Community Centre.
Parks, Trails, & Harbours
The town of Oakville operates numerous parks. These parks feature amenities like playgrounds, splash pads, sports courts, and skate parks.
On top of this, there are more than 200 kilometres of trails in the town and its greenspaces. These trails allow joggers, cyclists, and walkers to wend their way through the community.
For people who are interested in recreational boating, there are two harbours operated by the town. The harbour was the original heart of Oakville, and it remains an important part of the town.
The two harbours are Oakville Harbour and Bronte Harbour.
Cultural Centres
Oakville is home to several cultural institutions that provide programming for the community to enjoy.
Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts is one of these institutions. The centre has been an important part of local culture since it opened in 1977. It presents more than 70 professional performances a year and supports more than 200 performances by local community groups.
Another cultural institution is the Oakville Galleries. There are two gallery locations which offer art education programs for children and adults run by professional artists.
In addition to the permanent collection on display, the galleries host many short term exhibitions throughout the year.
Finally, the Oakville Museum also provides a wide variety of public programming. It is located in the estate of the founder of the town, William Chisholm, who built it in the 1850s.
Oakville Museum is the place to go to dive into local history.
Schools
If you want to raise your kids in Oakville, there is no shortage of options of schools for them to attend.
Halton District School Board administers English-language schools in the town.
Catholic schools in Oakville are run by the Halton Catholic District School Board.
French-language schools are operated by Conseil Scolaire Viamonde in the town.
Transportation
Commuting in and out of Oakville is simple and convenient thanks to all the available transit options.
Driving into the GTA is facilitated by the 400 series highways that pass through Oakville. In addition to private passenger vehicle travel, Oakville offers numerous public transit options.
Travelling by Car
Driving in Oakville is the most convenient option for most residents. The town’s road infrastructure is highly integrated with the surrounding communities, making commuting very easy. Moreover, Oakville doesn’t have as much congestion on the roads because it has fewer residents than nearby Mississauga and Toronto.
The Queen Elizabeth Way / Highway 403 run concurrent to each other in Oakville, but branch off from each other nearby at Burlington. The Queen Elizabeth Way heads to the south-east through Hamilton to Niagara Falls. Highway 403 travels to the south-west through Hamilton to Woodstock, via Brantford.
In the north of the town the 407 ETR connects Oakville to the GTA. This toll highway provides a road link with major GTA communities with a lower amount of traffic compared to non-toll roads.
Major streets that run east to west are Lakeshore Road and Dundas Street. Meanwhile, Trafalgar Road, Dorval Drive, Fourth Line Road, and Third Line Road are major streets running north to south.
Public Transit
If you don’t want to drive, Oakville also has many public transit options available.
Oakville Transit provides bus service throughout the town. With more than twenty bus routes, it’s easy to get around town without a car.
GO Transit provides commuter rail and bus service from Bronte and Oakville stations. GO buses connect commuters to surrounding communities.
Travelling by Rail
There are two major train stations in Oakville, Oakville Station and Bronte Station.
Via Rail provides service to Oakville Station on its Windsor-Quebec corridor.
GO Transit’s Lakeshore West Line services both Oakville and Bronte stations. It travels on to Niagara Falls via Hamilton in the south-east and Union Station in the north-east.
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