Living in Southwest Oakville
The stretch between Bronte and Third Line, where post-war Oakville meets the lake.
How we define this area. Our neighbourhood areas are SouthOakville.ca's own editorial coverage areas, not Town of Oakville boundaries. The Town does not publish official neighbourhood boundaries. Ours covers Bronte Road east to Third Line, Lake Ontario to the QEW. Every figure below is calculated from the 16 Statistics Canada dissemination areas listed on our data page.
Southwest Oakville at a glance
- Where it is
- Bronte Road east to Third Line, Lake Ontario to the QEW
- Population (2021)
- 8,748 residents
- Census areas
- 16 dissemination areas
- Schools
- 2 publicly funded
- Parks and open space
- 10, 1 on the waterfront
- Licensed childcare
- 6 centres
- Town growth areas
- Bronte MTSA
What the area feels like
Southwest Oakville is the connective tissue between Bronte and the rest of the town, and it is the area people most often struggle to name. It has no commercial centre of its own and no harbour; what it has is a long, quiet lakeshore edge and a large amount of the town's post-war housing.
The character shifts sharply from north to south. North of Rebecca Street it is straightforwardly suburban. South of Lakeshore Road West the lots get deeper, the tree canopy thickens, and the streets start ending at the water.
Housing character
Predominantly detached housing built between the 1950s and 1970s on a regular grid, with a steady rate of rebuild and addition activity. Streets running south from Lakeshore Road West carry the largest and most treed lots in the area.
There is comparatively little apartment stock, which is one of the clearer practical differences between this area and Bronte or Kerr Village next door.
This site publishes no prices, sales data or listing counts of any kind. Housing here is described by age, form and street pattern only.
Waterfront and parks
Shell Park and South Shell Waterfront Park anchor the western end, with a run of smaller waterfront promenades and parkettes providing public access to the shoreline between them.
Fourteen Mile Creek cuts through the eastern side of the area on its way to the lake.
| Park | Type | Size | Waterfront |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coronation Park | Community Park | 9.6 ha | Yes |
| Josef Petriska Forest | Tableland Woodlot | 3.6 ha | — |
| Hopedale Park | Neighbourhood Park | 2.4 ha | — |
| Seabrook Park | Neighbourhood Park | 2.1 ha | — |
| Woodhaven Park | Neighbourhood Park | 1.8 ha | — |
| Thornlea Park | Neighbourhood Park | 1.6 ha | — |
| Rebecca Gardens | Neighbourhood Park | 1.3 ha | — |
| Lawson Playground | Neighbourhood Park | 1.1 ha | — |
| Sir John Colborne Park | Neighbourhood Park | 0.8 ha | — |
| Sir John Colborne Seniors Centre | Neighbourhood Park | 0.5 ha | — |
Schools
2 publicly funded schools sit inside this area. Attendance is set by school board boundaries, not by the area described on this page — confirm any catchment directly with the board before it affects a decision.
| School | Board | Grades | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|
| École élémentaire Patricia-Picknell | CS Viamonde | JK-6 | 105 |
| Gladys Speers Public School | Halton DSB | JK-6 | 330 |
Childcare
6 licensed child care centres operate in Southwest Oakville, from the Ontario Ministry of Education’s licensed facilities dataset. At least one offers French-language programming. Licensing status changes; confirm current availability with the operator.
| Centre | Type | Street |
|---|---|---|
| Hopedale Montessori School | centre | 156 Third Line |
| Kinderhuis Montessori | centre | 785 Pacific Road |
| Les Coccinelles D'Oakville Inc. | centre | 1257 Sedgewick Crescent |
| Oakville Family Ymca Sacc - Gladys Speers | centre | 2150 Samway Road |
| Regional Child Care Centre - Sedgewick Crescent | centre | 1256 Sedgewick Crescent |
| Smart Little Children Daycare Centre | centre | 2195 Wyecroft Road |
Getting around
Roughly equidistant between Bronte GO and Oakville GO, which in practice means most residents drive to whichever is convenient rather than walking to either.
Third Line and Bronte Road are the main north–south routes to the QEW.
More on the two stations and the wider network in our guide to getting around South Oakville.
Development and change
18 active planning applications are on file with the Town of Oakville in this area. Status and dates are as the Town publishes them and change without notice.
| File | Type | Status | Proposed units |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Site Plan | In Circulation | — |
| — | Official Plan Amendment | Public Meeting | 1,616 |
| — | Zoning Bylaw Amendment | Public Meeting | 1,616 |
| — | Subdivision | Public Meeting | 1,616 |
| — | Site Plan | In Circulation | — |
| — | Site Plan | Final Approval | 14 |
Who lives here
From the 2021 Census of Population, aggregated across the 16 dissemination areas that make up our Southwest Oakville coverage area. Averages are weighted by population, so a small area does not count the same as a large one.
- Population
- 8,748
- Median age
- 43.7 years
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median household income
- $134,259
- Owner-occupied
- 81.5%
- Living in apartments
- 3.9%
- Households with children
- 68.7%
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 51.9%
Nearby neighbourhoods
South Oakville reads west to east along the lake. Southwest Oakville sits between Bronte and West Oakville.
Sources
- Census of Population, 2021 — dissemination area profiles and boundaries — Statistics Canada, 2021Adapted from Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
- Park Inventory — Town of Oakville, 2026Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence — Town of Oakville.The Town of Oakville does not endorse SouthOakville.ca.
- Ontario school information and enrolment — Ontario Ministry of Education, 2024–25
- Licensed child care facilities in Ontario — Ontario Ministry of Education, 2026Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence — Ontario.
- Growth Areas — Town of Oakville, 2026Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence — Town of Oakville.The Town of Oakville does not endorse SouthOakville.ca.
- Planning and Development Applications — Town of Oakville, 2026Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence — Town of Oakville.The Town of Oakville does not endorse SouthOakville.ca.
Keep reading
- Living in Bronte
A working harbour that became a village, at the mouth of Bronte Creek at Oakville's western edge.
- Living in West Oakville
Between Third Line and Dorval Drive — the town's older working edge, and the most school-dense area on this site.
- What counts as South Oakville?
Why there is no official boundary, and how this site draws its own.
- Moving to South Oakville
Neighbourhoods, schools, commuting and services, for people arriving from elsewhere in the GTA.