Share your feedback on protecting employment areas in Oakville

Town’s Employment Areas Review supports job growth and business development

The Town of Oakville has prepared preliminary options and directions to update its Employment Areas policies in response to recent provincial changes. These updates aim to ensure Oakville remains an attractive place for business investment and employment growth. 

The ongoing Employment Areas Review and preliminary directions will be presented to Town Council for discussion at the Planning and Development Council meeting on November 3, 2025. A public information meeting will follow on November 4, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Palermo/Bronte Rooms at Town Hall providing community members an opportunity to share feedback and help shape the future of Oakville’s employment lands. 

Employment Areas are lands designated for non-residential use such as offices, manufacturing, warehouses, and businesses that create and sustain jobs in Oakville. The Town protects lands for employment to ensure that as Oakville grows, job opportunities grow too, and people can live and work in Oakville. Employment Areas are delineated in blue in the Livable Oakville Official Plan, Schedule A1, Urban Structure (pdf). 

The Province of Ontario introduced a new definition for “areas of employment” that came into effect on October 20, 2024. This has an impact on some areas in Oakville that are presently identified only for business and employment uses. The Employment Areas Review will help guide how the Town will implement new provincial directions and related policies while protecting job growth and land supply for the long term. 

As part of the initial phase of the Employment Areas Review, the Town hosted engagement sessions with the business and development community in June 2025 and conducted a survey. This feedback helped to inform the preliminary options and directions phase of the review

More information is available on the Employment Areas Review page.