Oakville,_Ontario

Oakville, Ontario

Oakville (2006 population 165,613 ) is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

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), 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, 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 proximity 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 restructuring of Halton County into Halton Region brought the northern border southwards to just north of Highway 407

Neighbourhoods

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

Old Oakville

Old Oakville is located in South-Central Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario. It is the original Oakville Settlement and is centred on Oakville Harbour.

Bronte

Bronte is 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

Eastlake is 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.

Clearview

Clearview is located in Centre East Oakville, also sometimes referred to as Sherwood Heights.

College Park

College Park is located between Sixteen Mile Creek and just east of Trafalgar Road, from the Queen Elizabeth Way north to Upper Middle Road. It surrounds Sheridan College.

Iroquois Ridge North

Iroquois Ridge North is located in North East Oakville between Upper Middle Road and Dundas Street.

Iroquois Ridge South

Iroquois Ridge South is located in North East Oakville. The Falgarwood area is located in the southern end of the Iroquois Ridge South community.

Glen Abbey

Glen Abbey is located in West Oakville. It is a large area west of the Glen Abbey Golf Course.

Palermo

Palermo is located in Northwest Oakville. It is a small community centred on the intersection of Dundas Street and Bronte Road (Highway 25).

River Oaks

River Oaks is located in North-Central Oakville. It includes the Oak Park development.

Uptown Core

Uptown Core is located in North Centre Oakville. It includes the area on either side of Trafalgar Road between Dundas Street and Glenashton Drive.

West Oak Trails

West Oak Trails is located in North Centre West Oakville. It is a newer development than the other communities.

Demographics

Ethnic Origin	Population	Percent
English	47,920	29.13%
Scottish	34,055	20.70%
Irish	30,795	18.72%
German	15,490	9.41%
Italian	15,195	9.23%
French	13,905	8.45%
Polish	8,865	5.38%

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

According to the 2006 census, Oakville had a younger population than Canada as a whole. Minors (youth under 19 years of age) totalled 28.1 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 11.7 percent. This compares with the Canadian average of 24.4 percent (minors) and 13.7 percent (pensioners). The average age of Burlington residents is 38.4 compared to the Canadian average of 39.5. In the five years between 2001 and 2006, the population of Burlington grew by 14.4%, while Canada as a whole grew by 5.4 percent.

Because of its close proximity to Toronto, Oakville is increasingly becoming diverse. As of 2006, 81.2% of the population was white. Other groups include South Asian: 6.0%, Chinese: 3.2%, black 2.1%, and mixed race: 2%

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.

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. The other professional team is the Oakville Ice women's ice hockey team of the NWHL. Oakville is home to the Oakville Crusaders Rugby club, also the biggest rugby club in Canada. Oakville also has a moderate amount of success in hockey with the Oakville Blades, a Tier II Junior "A" franchise since 1966, and a "AAA" hockey system. The current rep hockey team in Oakville is the Oakville Rangers. The town also has the Oakville Buzz, a Junior "B" lacrosse team who won the Founders Cup in 2006. The current rep lacrosse team is the Oakville Hawks. There is also the Oakville Aquatic Club. This year (2008) they came in third place at the Short Course Provincial Championships in London, Ontario. The club came first at Long Course Provincials in July 2008 in Thunder Bay, On. They are one of the largest swim clubs in Ontario and one of the best in Canada.

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

Close 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 centre. 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 the bronze to be sold for scrap. On January 2, 2007, Halton Regional Police recovered the statue's head.

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.