Welcome to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Your Oshawa (Brooklin, Whitby, Durham, Ajax, Bowmanville)
area contact is Mike McMahon (REMAX Spirit INC.) Please refer to the "Relocating to Oshawa" section to the right for
the phone number, address, website, and email address to contact Mike McMahon directly.
Ask about the REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and farms.
Oshawa summary
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline, approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the
eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is not, however, part of the Toronto CMA but has its own metropolitan area,
the fourteenth largest in Canada. It is the largest community in the Regional Municipality of Durham. The name Oshawa originates from the Ojibwa term
aazhaway, meaning "crossing to the other side of a river or lake" or just "(a)cross".
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
The automobile industry, specifically the Canadian division of General Motors Corporation, known as General Motors Canada, has always been at the forefront
of Oshawa's economy. Founded in 1876 as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, General Motors of Canada's headquarters and major assembly plants are located in
the city. The lavish home of the carriage company's founder, Parkwood Estate, is a national historic site, and a backdrop favoured by Toronto film crews.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
The city is also home to Windfields Farm, a thoroughbred horse breeding operation and birthplace of Canada's most famous racehorse, Northern Dancer.
Once very much a distinct community - physically, economically, and culturally - Oshawa has been increasingly subsumed into the Greater Toronto Area.
Oshawa is headquarters to General Motors Canada, which has large-scale manufacturing and administrative operations in the city and employs many thousands
both directly and indirectly. Since Windsor, Ontario houses Chrysler Canada headquarters, the two cities have something of a friendly rivalry for the title
of "Automotive Capital of Canada". REMAX MLS
real estate homes for sale including residential houses, apartments,
condos, duplexes, acreages and farms.
The revenue collection divisions of the Ontario Ministry of Finance occupy one of the few major office buildings in the city's downtown, which continues to
struggle despite business improvement efforts. The city's southern neighbourhoods tend to be considerably less affluent than its northern sections, which are
rapidly expanding as Toronto commuters move in. The southern half of the city consists of industrial zones and compact housing designed for mid-20th century
industrial workers, while the northern half has a suburban feel more typical of later decades.
High wages paid to unionized GM employees have meant that these workers could enjoy a relatively high standard of living, although such jobs are much scarcer
today than they once were. During its post-World War II heyday, General Motors offered some of the best manufacturing jobs available in Canada and attracted
thousands of workers from economically depressed areas of the country, particularly the Maritimes, Newfoundland, rural Quebec and northern Ontario. The city
was also a magnet for European immigrants in the skilled trades, and boasts substantial Polish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Croatian, German and Russian ethnic
communities.
Although the workforce at General Motors of Canada has shrunk in recent years (with more reductions through attrition planned), the company continues to make
significant technology and capital investments at its sites in Oshawa. While the company's once essential role in the local economy has diminished, it remains
the largest local employer. Many of its operations have been spun off to contractors. In most cases, new owners at the spun-off facilities are not bound by
the collective bargaining agreements of the Canadian Auto Workers, and wages at such operations tend to be much lower than at General Motors itself.
Despite GM's troubles, Oshawa has become one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, although statements to this effect are often in reference to the Census
Metropolitan Area, which includes its fast growing neighbours of Whitby and Clarington. Many commuters have been enticed to Oshawa by comparatively low housing
prices and the regular rail service into downtown Toronto provided by GO Transit and VIA Rail. The growth of subdivisions to house Toronto commuters will
likely accelerate if the long-planned Highway 407 extension is built across the city's northern tier in the next decade. The trend suggests major social changes
for Oshawa, which has long had a vigorous labour union presence and largely blue collar identity. Rising property values and the emergence of land speculation
associated with suburban growth have created new dynamics for the local economy. While unchecked growth was largely accepted (even embraced) in the 1980s and
1990s, concern over urban sprawl has emerged.
In late 2004, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority announced a plan under which the Oshawa Airport would be closed and its traffic diverted to a major new
Toronto reliever airport to be constructed in Pickering. The Oshawa airport handles occasional traffic related to General Motors (emergency spare parts and
executives); GM has indicated that a move of its air traffic to Pickering would not affect its operations. The airport also handles significant general
aviation, two flight training facilities, and numerous other aviation and non-aviation related companies, all of which would need to be diverted or relocated.
The city has considered ambitious proposals to repurpose the airport lands, but as of January 2006, significant upgrade work is being performed on the main
terminal building by the city itself, signalling that the city has no immediate plans to close the busy facility, understanding its importance to the community
and local economy. Additional aviation related construction is also taking place on the airport lands.
Text & photo credits
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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oshawa, Ontario".
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