Oakville Overview

The community is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) which is Canada's largest metropolitan area with total population of about 5.4 million. Oakville residents enjoy the lifestyle of a small town while being part of one of North America's most dynamic city regions. The Greater Toronto Area is home to 15 percent of Canada's businesses and 16 percent of the nation's workforce. One-quarter of Canada's population live within a 100 mile (160 km) radius of Oakville.

Accessibility to the US border from Oakville is a one-hour drive along the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW Highway) where it connects at Lewiston, Niagara Falls or Buffalo, New York. There are two International airports within 30 minutes of Oakville. The Lester B. Pearson International Airport is the largest in Canada and the 26th busiest in the world, handling over 28 million passengers annually (Greater Toronto Airport Authority, 2002). Hamilton's John C. Munro International Airport located 40 kilometres away is Canada's number one freight airport.

Oakville is also fully serviced by passenger rail service to Union Station in Downtown Toronto, including GO Transit and intercity VIA Rail. GO Trains leave Oakville every ten minutes to Union Station during peak times. VIA Rail offers express service to Ottawa and Montreal from Oakville. Rail passengers can also transfer in Toronto to Amtrak rail services to cities in the USA.

Oakville's strong and diversified economic base offers an excellent location for both new and expanding businesses. Over 260 national and international corporate headquarters, constitute an important part of the 4,500 employers in Oakville. Oakville's Top 100 Employers & Top Employers by Industry includes companies from the automotive, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, ICT, professional service, and construction industries.  Over 19,000 are employed by Oakville's Top 100 Employers.

Oakville companies have access to a high quality local work force as 62% of residents 15 and over have a post secondary education. This level of education is 12% higher than the provincial average. While manufacturing industries account for 15% of employment, managerial/business/administrative categories make up 36% of occupations. Being situated within the GTA, businesses in Oakville also draw on a larger increasingly mobile work force of 1.3 million within a 30 kilometre radius of Oakville.

Within a one-hour drive, Oakville workers/employers have access to eight universities and eight technical colleges for formal or continuing education. Local elementary and secondary schools are supplemented by nine independent schools. Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning main campus is located in Oakville, and provides a variety of education and training opportunities in business, animation, engineering, arts, social sciences and technical fields. Sheridan provides education to 13,000 full time post secondary students and 37,000 continuing education students.

Sheridan's Oakville Campus is home to the College's animation program - known as the Harvard of Animation. The program is currently being expanded to meet the growing demand for graduates. Sheridan will also be opening a business incubator for digital media businesses to foster innovation and entrepreneurship within the community.

Oakville has an inventory of 18.1 million square feet of industrial space, and over 2.2 million square feet of office space, with lease rates and property taxes that are competitive with other suburban locations (CBRE, Q2 2009). High amenity business parks and highway exposure characterize much of Oakville's available space and development sites to meet current needs and future growth requirement.

The Town of Oakville has a robust and scalable telecommunications network that provides a full complement of telecommunications services to customers.

This historic Town, incorporated in 1857, has preserved its rich heritage especially in the downtown area where many 19th Century buildings house over 400 fine shops, services and restaurants.  The downtown is also home to one of two local harbours located on Lake Ontario, which feature over 1,000 slips and moorings for sail and powerboats. Bronte is the location of Oakville's second harbour and has an abundance of fine shops and restaurants with a nautical appeal.

Tourism is an important industry in Oakville, attracting over 1.4 million visitors annually. Oakville has over 2,400 acres (972 hectares) of park land, two natural harbours, historic buildings, theatres and galleries, Glen Abbey Golf Club - site of the Canadian Open, and the annual Waterfront Festival, and Jazz Festival. Corporate travelers find Oakville a preferred locations or hub for business in the Toronto/Southwestern Ontario area. Meetings & conference venues, contemporary accommodations, dining, shopping and live theatres are features of Oakville.