Information about Oakville, Ontario

Town of Oakville
Motto: Avancez (French for Go forward)[1]
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Halton
Wards	6
Neighbourhoods	12
Established	1827
Government
- Town Mayor	Rob Burton.
- Governing Body	Oakville Town Council.
- MPs	Bonnie Brown, Garth Turner
- MPPs	Ted Chudleigh, Kevin Flynn
Area [1]
- Town	138.51 km  (53.5 sq mi)
Elevation	173 m (568 ft)
Population (2006)
- Town	165,613 (Ranked 26th)
- Density	1195.2 /km (0/sq mi)
	[2]
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Postal code span	L6(H,J,K,L,M)
[1] Stats Canada
Website: Town of Oakville Official Website

Oakville (2006 population 165,613^[2]) 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 shipbuilding, 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^[3][4] 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.

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

Sports

Oakville has a long history of sporting. The only recognized professional sports team in Oakville is the Oakville Blue Devils of Canadian Soccer League. The Blue Devils are affiliated with the Oakville Soccer Club, which is the biggest soccer club in Canada.^[5] Oakville also has a moderate amount of success in hockey with 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 Ice - National Women's Hockey League
• Oakville Crusaders (Rugby)
• Oakville Blades - Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
• Oakville Buzz - OLA Junior B Lacrosse League
• Minor Oaks Hockey Association - Ontario Minor Hockey Association
• Oakville Aquatic Club
• Oakville Soccer
• OMBA-Oakville Minor Baseball Association

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. 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.

Each ward's Town Councillor represents the ward solely on Oakville Town Council. Each ward's Town and 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:

• Oakville Riding: Kevin Flynn (Liberal)
• Halton Riding: Ted Chudleigh (PC)

Federal

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

• Oakville Riding: Bonnie Brown (Liberal)
• Halton Riding: Garth Turner (Liberal)

Arts and culture

Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts

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

Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park

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.^[6] 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.^[7] On January 2, 2007, Halton Regional Police recovered the statue's head.^[8]

Sister city

In April 1984, Oakville Mayor Harry Barrett, and Neyagawa Mayor Tadahiro Nishikawa signed an agreement making the two municipalities sister cities. In honour of this declaration, a major Oakville street was renamed Neyagawa Boulevard.^[9]

External links

• Official Town Website
• Oakville Today Local Newspaper
• Oakville Beaver Local Newspaper

See also

• List of notable people of Oakville, Ontario
• List of schools in Oakville, Ontario

References

		Milton
	Burlington	Oakville	Mississauga
		Lake Ontario|

•  • [ e] Municipalities of Halton Region, Ontario
City of Burlington • Town of Halton Hills • Town of Milton • Town of Oakville

•  • [ e] Inner Ring of Golden Horseshoe
Largest City:	Toronto
Regions:	Durham Region • Halton Region • Peel Region • York Region • City of Hamilton • Niagara Region
Cities:	Brampton • Burlington • Mississauga • Niagara Falls • Oshawa • Pickering • Port Colborne • St. Catharines • Thorold • Vaughan • Welland
Towns and Major Communities:	Ajax • Aurora • Bolton • Bowmanville • Brock • Buttonville • Caledon • Clarington • Concord • East Gwillimbury • Fort Erie • Georgina • Grimsby • Lincoln • Halton Hills • Keswick • King • Kleinburg • Maple • Markham • Milton • Newmarket • Niagara-on-the-Lake • Oakville • Pelham • Richmond Hill • Scugog • Sutton • Thornhill • Unionville • Uxbridge • Whitby • Whitchurch-Stouffville • Woodbridge