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Oakville, Ontario

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Oakville
Town
Motto: 
Avancez (French: Go forward)
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
RegionHalton Region
Wards6
Neighbourhoods12
Established1827
Government
 • Town MayorRob Burton.
 • Governing BodyOakville Town Council.
 • MPsBonnie Brown, Garth Turner
 • MPPsTed Chudleigh, Kevin Flynn
Elevation
173 m (568 ft)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total
165,613 (Ranked 26th)
 [1]
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
Postal code span
L6(H,J,K,L,M)
WebsiteTown of Oakville Official Website
[1] Stats Canada

Oakville (2006 population 165,613[1]) is a town on Lake Ontario in southern Ontario, Canada, midway between Toronto (about 31 km or 19 mi away) on its eastern border and Hamilton (about 20 km or 12 mi away) from its western border. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area metropolitan community.

History

In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road. In 1805, the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada bought the lands between Etobicoke and Hamilton from the Mississaugas, except for the land at the mouths of Twelve Mile Creek (Bronte Creek), Sixteen Mile Creek, and along the Credit River. In 1807, British immigrants settled the area surrounding Dundas Street as well as on the shore of Lake Ontario.

In 1820, the Crown bought the area surrounding the waterways. The area around the creeks, 960 acres (approximately 4 km²), 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, Thomas Merrick.

Oakville's first industries included ship-building, timber shipment, and wheat farming. 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 was built through it.

The town eventually became industrialized with the opening of Cities Service Canada {later BP Canada, and now Petro Canada) and Shell Canada (later closed) oil refineries, the Procor factory, and, most importantly, the Ford Motor Company's Canadian headquarters and plant, all in close proximinty to the Canadian National Railway and the QEW/403.

In 1962 the town of Oakville merged with its neighbouring villages (Bronte, Palermo, Sheridan, and the remainder of Trafalgar Township) to become the new Town of Oakville, reaching northwards to Steeles Avenue in Milton. In 1973, the restucturing of Halton County into Halton Region brought the northern border southwards to just north of Highway 407

Divisions

Oakville's Planning Department divides the town into 12 communities. These divisions have little to do with politics and are based on traditional neighbourhoods. Oakville's Planning Department's 12 communities are:

  • Old Oakville - located in South-Central Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is the original Oakville Settlement and is centered on Oakville Harbour.
  • Bronte - located in Southwest Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is a community centred on Bronte Harbour and includes the Coronation Park district to its east.
  • Eastlake - located in Southeast Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is bordered on the west by Morrison Creek and to the north by Cornwall Road. 2005 Town Planning documents say its eastern boundary is Winston Churchill Blvd but the same document's map shows a different configuration (see link).
  • Clearview - located in Center East Oakville, also sometimes referred to as Sherwood Heights.
  • College Park - located between 16 Mile Creek and just east of Trafalgar Road, from the QEW north to Upper Middle Road, it surrounds Sheridan College.
  • Iroquois Ridge North - located in North East Oakville between Upper Middle Road and Dundas Street.
  • Iroquois Ridge South - located in North East Oakville. The Falgarwood area is located in the southern end of the Iroquois Ridge South community.
  • Glen Abbey - located in West Oakville, it is a large area west of the Glen Abbey Golf Course
  • Palermo - located in Northwest Oakville, it is a small community centred on the intersection of Dundas Street and Bronte Road (Highway 25).
  • River Oaks - located in North-Central Oakville, it includes the Oak Park development.
  • Uptown Core - located in North Centre Oakville. It includes the area on either side of Trafalgar Road between Dundas Street and Glenashton Drive.
  • West Oak Trails - located in North Centre West Oakville, it is also a fairly recent development.

Demographics

Ethnic Origin Population Percent
English 43,370 30.18%
Canadian 38,935 27.09%
Scottish 28,420 19.77%
Irish 25,695 17.88%
Italian 12,280 8.54%
German 12,260 8.53%
French 10,970 7.63%

According to the 2006 Canadian Census Oakville had 165,613 residents. This represents a 14.4% increase since the 2001 Census.

Based on 2001 Canadian census data[2][3] Oakville is home to a number of ethnic groups. Due to its proximity to Toronto, the city is growing more diverse. Visible minority groups (non-white population) consists of Asian (chiefly East Indian) 4.3%, Chinese 2.2%, and Black 1.9%. A growing mixed race population totals 1.4%.

79.4% of residents stated their religion as Christian, almost evenly split amongst Roman Catholics and Protestants including Anglicans. Non-Christian religions include Muslim: 2.0%, Hindu: 1.3%, Sikh: 1.1%, and Jewish: 0.7%. 14% indicated no religion.

Oakville was younger than Canada in terms of age in the 2001 Census. Some 21.7% of the population consisted of children (ages 0 - 14), while those over 65 number 10.8%, resulting in a growth rate of 12.7% in the 5 years before 2001, and a median age of 36.4 years of age.

The median household income was $ 83,982 with an average house value of $306,209.

Sports

Oakville has a long history of sporting, especially in ice hockey. They have had their very own professional women's hockey team since 2003, a Tier II Junior "A" franchise since 1966, and a "AAA" hockey system. The town also has a Junior "B" lacrosse team who recently won the Founders Cup in 2006. Oakville's soccer club is also the largest in Canada.[4]

Glen Abbey Golf Course, site of several Canadian Open professional golf championships and many other amateur tournaments, is also located in Oakville.

Education

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.[citation needed] Oakville is covered by the Halton District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest, and Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud

Oakville is home to Sheridan College, a renowned animation and business studies institute, and Oakville's only higher education facility.

Government

Municipal

At the municipal level, the governing body is the Oakville Town Council consisting of a mayor (currently Rob Burton) and twelve councillors. The town is divided into six wards, with two councillors elected to represent each ward.

Within each ward, the Town Councillor represents the ward solely on Oakville Town Council. The Town/Regional Councillor is a member of the 21-member governing council of the Regional Municipality of Halton, in addition to being a member of the 13-member Town Council.

Provincial

Oakville is divided into two provincial ridings which use the same boundaries as the federal ridings and is currently represented provincially by:

Federal

Oakville is divided into two federal ridings which use the same boundaries as the provincial ridings and is currently represented federally by:

Local attractions

In close proximity to the crossing of Third Line and Dundas Street West is a sixteen acre park owned by the Ukrainian Taras H. Shevchenko Museum and Memorial Park Foundation with the poet's statue in the center.[5] Over the years, this site has been vandalized, including an arson fire that destroyed the Museum in 1998. Near the end of 2006, the statue was stolen, probably to be melted and bronze to be sold for scrap.[6] On January 2, 2007, Halton Regional Police recovered the statue's head.[7]


References

  1. ^ a b Statistics Canada. 2007. Oakville, Ontario (table). 2006 Community Profiles. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-591-XWE. Ottawa. Released March 13, 2007.
  2. ^ Statistics Canada 2001 Census
  3. ^ Oakville Population Information Package January 2005
  4. ^ OSC Newsletter
  5. ^ Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park
  6. ^ Toronto Star news article
  7. ^ CBC news article

See also

Wikinews has related news:
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