Oshawa

Historians believe that the area that would become Oshawa began as a transfer point for the fur trade. Beaver and other animals trapped for their pelts by local natives were traded with the Coureurs des bois (voyagers). Furs were loaded onto canoes by the Mississauga Natives at the Oshawa harbour and transported to the trading posts located to the west at the mouth of the Credit River. Around 1760, the French constructed a trading post near the harbour location this was abandoned after a few years, but its ruins provided shelter for the first residents of what later became Oshawa. Most notably, one of the fur traders was Moody Farewell, an early resident of the community who was to some extent responsible for its name change.

In the late 18th century a local resident, Roger Conant, started an export business shipping salmon to the United States. His success attracted further migration into the region. A large number of the founding immigrants were United Empire Loyalists, who left the United States to live under British rule. Later, Irish and then French Canadian immigration increased as did industrialization. Oshawa and the surrounding Ontario County were also the settling grounds of a disproportionate number of 19th century Cornish immigrants during the Cornish emigration which emptied large tracts of that part of England. As well, the surveys ordered by Governor John Graves Simcoe, and the subsequent land grants, helped populate the area. When Col. Asa Danforth laid out his York-to-Kingston road, it passed through what would later become Oshawa.

In 1822, a "colonization road" (a north–south road to facilitate settlement) known as Simcoe Street was constructed. It more or less followed the path of an old native trail known as the Nonquon Road, and ran from the harbour to the area of Lake Scugog. This intersected the "Kingston Road" at what would become Oshawa's "Four Corners." In 1836, Edward Skae relocated his general store approximately 800 m east to the southeast corner of this intersection; as his store became a popular meeting place (probably because it also served as the Post Office), the corner and the growing settlement that surrounded it, were known as Skae's Corners. In 1842, Skae, the postmaster, applied for official post office status, but was informed the community needed a better name. Moody Farewell was requested to ask his native acquaintances what they called the area; their reply was "Oshawa," which translates to "where we must leave our canoes". Thus, the name of Oshawa, one of the primary "motor cities" of Canada, has the meaning "where we have to get out and walk" The name "Oshawa" was adopted and the post office named accordingly. In 1849, the requirements for incorporation were eased, and Oshawa was incorporated as a village in 1850.

Oshawa Factories, 1910

The 1846 Gazeteer indicates a population of about 1,000 in a community surrounded by farms. There were three churches, a post office, tradesmen of various types and some industry a foundry, a grist mill and a fulling mill, a brewery two distilleries, a machine shop and four cabinet makers.[15]

The newly established village became an industrial centre, and implement works, tanneries, asheries and wagon factories opened (and often closed shortly after, as economic "panics" occurred regularly). In 1878, Robert Samuel McLaughlin, Sr. moved his carriage works to Oshawa from Enniskillen to take advantage of its harbour and of the availability of a rail link not too far away. He constructed a two-story building on Simcoe Street, just north of the King's Highway. This building was heavily remodelled in 1929, receiving a new facade and being extended to the north using land where the city's gaol (jail, firehall And townhall) had once stood. The village became a town in 1879, in what was then called East Whitby Township. Around 1890, the carriage works relocated from its Simcoe Street address to an unused furniture factory a couple of blocks to the northeast, and this remained its site until the building burned down in 1899. Offered assistance by the town, McLaughlin chose to stay in Oshawa, building a new factory across Mary Street from the old site. Rail service had been provided in 1890 by the Oshawa Railway this was originally set up as a streetcar line, but c. 1910 a second "freight line" was built slightly to the east of Simcoe Street.[16] This electric line provided streetcar and freight service, connected central Oshawa with the Grand Trunk (now Canadian National) Railway, and with the Canadian Northern (which ran through the very north of Oshawa) and the Canadian Pacific, built in 1912–13. The Oshawa Railway was acquired by the Grand Trunk operation around 1910, and streetcar service was replaced by buses in 1940. After GM moved its main plants to south Oshawa in 1951, freight traffic fell and most of the tracks were removed in 1963, although a line to the older remaining "north" plant via Ritson Road remained until 2000.

Strike: 1937

On 8 April 1937, disputes between 4,000 assembly line workers and General Motors management led to the Oshawa Strike, a salient event in the history of Canadian trade unionism. As the weight of the Great Depression slowly began to lift, demand for automobiles again began to grow. The workers sought higher wages, an eight-hour workday, better working conditions and recognition of their union, the United Auto Workers (Local 222). The then-Liberal government of Mitchell Hepburn, which had been elected on a platform of being the working man's friend, sided with the corporation and brought in armed university students to break up any union agitation. These much-derided "Hepburn's Hussars" and "Sons of Bitches" were never needed as the union refused to be drawn into violent acts. The union and workers had the backing of the local population, other unions and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party and, on 23 April, two weeks after the strike started, the company gave in to most of the workers' demands, although it pointedly did not recognize the union.[19]

A historic church in Oshawa: St. Gregory the Great

Similar to all of southern Ontario, Oshawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with vast, but not extreme, seasonal temperature differences. Summers are generally warm, while winters are cold, but not extreme by Canadian standards. Oshawa receives some of the lowest snowfalls in all of Ontario.

According to the 2011 census, the population of Oshawa is 149,607, up from 141,590 (5.7%) in the 2006 census. In 2001, 49.3% of the population was male and 50.7% female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.5% of the resident population of Oshawa. This compares with 5.8% in Ontario, and almost 5.6% for Canada overall.

In mid-2001, 10.4% of the resident population in Oshawa were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada, therefore, the average age is 35.8 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.

In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Oshawa grew by 10.2%, compared with an increase of 6.1% for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Oshawa averaged 328.0 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether.

According to the 2006 census, the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area, which includes neighbouring Whitby and Clarington, has a population of 330,594.

The information regarding ethnicities at the left is from the Canadian Census.[22] The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 10,000 responses are included.

In 2006, 8.1% of the residents were visible minorities, 37.4% of whom were Black Canadians.[23]

Religious profile:

• Protestant: 44.7%
• Roman Catholic: 30.8%
• Other Christian: 3.3%
• Muslim: 0.9%
• Hindu: 0.4%
• Sikh: 0.4%

Oshawa is home to the Canadian headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church, which for many years maintained a college here, and now operate a high school and elementary school.

According to the 2011 Census[24] English is the mother tongue of 86.7% of the residents of Oshawa. 2.2% of the population have French as their mother tongue, which is one of the highest proportions within the GTA. Polish is the mother tongue of 1.3% of the population, with Italian trailing at 1.0%.

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", which is now held by Oshawa.[9] While the company's once essential role in the local economy has diminished, it remains the largest local employer. In November 2018, General Motors announced the closing of the plant, with the layoff of both salaried and hourly workers.[25]

The revenue collection divisions of the Ontario Ministry of Finance occupy one of the main office buildings in the city's downtown. Oshawa City Hall, Tribute Communities Centre, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery are also in the downtown core. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology occupies five buildings in downtown. More than 1,900 UOIT. students and staff attend class and work in downtown Oshawa.[26]

The city's older southern neighbourhoods tend to be considerably less affluent than its more suburban 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 early 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 heyday after World War II, 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, HungarianCroatian, German, Slovak and Russian ethnic communities.

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 neighbouring Whitby and Clarington. Oshawa achieved a record-setting year of growth in 2015 with over a half a billion dollars in construction value (breaking its previous record in 2014).[27] 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 with the Highway 407 East extension. Highway 407 East (407E) opened to Harmony Road in Oshawa on 20 June 2016, including a tolled north–south link to Highway 401 known as Highway 412. A further extension will push the highway east to Highway 35/Highway 115 in Clarington by 2020, with a second link to Highway 401 known as Highway 418.

In spring 2016, Oshawa was ranked No. 1 city for jobs in Canada when compared to 33 cities across the country.[28] The trend suggests major social and demographic changes for Oshawa, which has long had a vigorous labour union presence, a mostly white demographic, and a largely blue collar identity.

The city has been attracting film and television producers[29] who have made parts of a number of movies and TV series in Oshawa,[30] most recently It (2017 film) [31] (based on the Stephen King book), but also X-Men, Chicago, Queer as Folk, Billy Madison and Hannibal.[32][33] The most popular location in the city for film makers is Parkwood Estate.[34]

Oshawa City Hall

The dominant presence of General Motors (and its autoworkers) meant that Oshawa was well known as a bastion of unionist, left-wing support during the decades following the Second World War. The city played an important role in Canada's labour history, including the 1937 "Oshawa Strike" against General Motors and the considerable financial support provided by the city's autoworkers to the New Democratic Party (NDP) and its predecessors.

However, Oshawa was part of the Ontario (County) riding when Michael Starr served. Starr was a high ranking Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Member during the Diefenbaker era. Starr served the new Oshawa-Whitby riding for one term, before being narrowly defeated by future federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent in 1968. Broadbent then represented the city in the House of Commons until 1989, and in the 1980s led the NDP to its greatest electoral successes.

By the end of the 1990s, the city's changing economy and demographics led many voters to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and the Canadian Alliance, a conservative party at the federal level. Conservative candidates have won recent provincial and federal elections, whereas from 1968-93 the city was a safe NDP seat in both the federal and provincial legislatures.

The city's shifting social and political dynamics were seen in the 2004 federal election the riding of Oshawa (not coterminous with the City of Oshawa, but containing most of it) was the country's most competitive. The candidate of the new Conservative Party of Canada, Colin Carrie, edged out his NDP rival Sid Ryan by several hundred votes; it was an atypical and ideologically stark race that left Louise Parkes of the Liberals in third place.

In 2006, Whitby-Oshawa also became a Conservative seat Jim Flaherty followed Starr (after over 40 years) into the Cabinet of Canada as Minister of Finance.

In 2014, Jennifer French of the Ontario New Democratic Party was elected as Member of Provincial Parliament in the provincial riding of Oshawa with over 40% of the vote.

Oshawa has parks, walking trails, conservation areas, indoors and outdoor public swimming pools, community centres, and sports facilities. Lakeview Park stretches along the coast of Lake Ontario, complete with a sandy beach, and is the location of the Oshawa Museum. Also, the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve and Second Marsh Wildlife Area offer protected marshland areas with interpretive trails and viewing platforms. Oshawa's parks and trail system encompasses almost 410 hectares of parkland and more than 27 kilometres of paved trails. Oshawa has more than 130 parks, more than 110 playgrounds, nine splash pads, eight ice pads and three skateboard parks.

• Canadian Automotive Museum
• Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum
• The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
• Tribute Communities Centre
• Oshawa Museum
• Parkwood Estate
• All or Nothing Brewhouse

Public education in Oshawa is provided by the Durham District School Board. As of June 2015, there were 28 elementary schools and six secondary schools.[42] The Durham Catholic District School Board, which has its headquarters in Oshawa, oversees public Catholic education in Durham Region. There are 10 Catholic elementary schools and two secondary schools. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates one French public elementary school, while the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud runs one publicly funded French-language Catholic elementary school. Private schools include Durham Elementary School, Immanuel Christian School, Kingsway College and College Park Elementary School.

Oshawa is home to 22,000 full-time students studying at three post-secondary institutions Durham College, Trent University Durham and University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). Oshawa is a Community Teaching Site for Queen's University School of Medicine at Lakeridge Health.

The main campus of Durham College is located in the city. The college has grown and expanded since it opened in 1967 and now offers more than 140 full-time programs.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) opened in 2003. Given the city's industrial heritage, the university's courses emphasize technology, manufacturing and engineering themes. UOIT has ten buildings at two stand-alone campus locations (north Oshawa and Downtown Oshawa) and houses more than 70 specialized research laboratories and research facilities. It is the only university in Canada to offer a degree program in Automotive Engineering.[43]

Trent University Durham has a long history in Oshawa. In 2010, the university opened a stand-alone campus in Oshawa (beside the Oshawa Civic Recreation Complex).

Oshawa has few media outlets of its own due to its proximity to Toronto. The city has one AM station, CKDO (1580), which is rebroadcast on 107.7 FM, and one FM station, 94.9 CKGE. Both stations are owned by Durham Radio, which also owns CJKX, which is licensed to the nearby community of Ajax, although all three stations are operated from the same studios at the Oshawa Executive Airport. CKDO has officially been licensed as a clear-channel station since 2006 and is the only full-power station in Canada on 1580 kHz it nonetheless operates at a fifth of the usual power of a clear-channel outlet with a directional signal that is pointed away from the United States.

Oshawa has a Global O&O station, CHEX-TV-2 (Channel 12), which is a sister station of Peterborough's CHEX-DT. It airs a daily supper hour news and current affairs program targeted to Durham Region viewers. Although a larger city than Peterborough then and now, Oshawa was not granted a television station in the original 1950s assignments as it was geographically too close to Toronto, since the original spacings were set at 145 km (90 mi). Rogers Cable, the local cable television service provider, operates Rogers TV: a community channel with local television programming for cable subscribers.

Oshawa is served by several community newspapers, including the Oshawa Express, an independent which is published every Wednesday, and Oshawa This Week, published two times per week by Metroland. The long-standing daily newspaper, the Oshawa Times (also known at various times as the Oshawa Daily Times and Times-Gazette), was closed by its owner Thomson Newspapers, after a lengthy strike in 1994.

John Short Larke was the proprietor of the Oshawa Vindicator, a strongly pro-Conservative newspaper, in the late 19th century.[44]

Oshawa is home to Artsforum Magazine, a not-for-profit magazine of arts and ideas launched in Fall 2000 by John Arkelian, its publisher and editor-in-chief. Topics in the magazine range from foreign policy to film.[45]

Robert McLaughlin

• Sean Avery, NHL hockey player
• Sherwood Bassin, general manager in the Ontario Hockey League
• Daniel Caesar, singer-songwriter
• Lloyd Chadburn, Canadian World War II fighter pilot
• A. J. Cook, actress
• Jerry Edmonton, member of Steppenwolf
• Shirley Eikhard, songwriter "Something to Talk About"
• Evangeline Lydia Emsley, nurse in World War I
• Shalom Harlow, Canadian supermodel and actress
• Sandy Hawley, horse jockey
• Kathryn Humphreys, sports anchor
• Donald Jackson, figure skater who won the bronze at the 1960 Olympics
• Lennon & Maisy, country music duo, songwriters and actresses. Star as Maddie & Daphne Conrad on the ABC musical drama series Nashville
• Matt Leyden, manager of Oshawa Generals and Ontario Hockey Association president
• John J. McLaughlin, son of Robert McLaughlin and inventor of Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale
• Robert McLaughlin, founder of the McLaughlin Motor Car Company, which became a major part of General Motors Canada.
• John Part, three-time World Darts Champion
• The Stellas, country music duo and songwriters
• Stephen Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada
• Albert W. Tucker, mathematician
• Barbara Underhill, figure skater
• Tonya Lee Williams, actress

• Camp X
• Oshawa Car Assembly
• Oshawa Truck Assembly

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Oshawa.

Media related to Oshawa at Wikimedia Commons

• City of Oshawa