News & Updates

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Follow the updates from Connectoshawa.ca

Follow the updates from Connectoshawa.ca

  • Launch your festive spirit at the annual Tree Lighting event

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    It's a tradition that began more than 30 years ago, and the City of Oshawa is pleased to once again host the Tree Lighting event with presenting sponsor Oshawa PUC Networks.

    Residents can kick-start their holiday spirit at this annual event that will take place on Friday, November 18 from 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at City Hall Civic Square (50 Centre Street South). Our exclusive radio sponsor CKDO Durham’s Classic Hits station will be launching their Christmas music on-air at 7 p.m.

    “The tradition will continue again this year with lots to see and do for the whole family and of course Santa will drop by,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee. “Join us for an evening of fun in our colourful Civic Square.”

    Bring the family and enjoy free hot chocolate, see the lighting of the City’s Christmas tree, plus Santa and his elves will be making a special appearance. Make sure you remember to bring your letter to Santa! The Oshawa Civic Band and the O’Neill CVI Senior Chamber Choir will provide the sounds of the season with traditional holiday carols and live entertainment will get the whole family dancing.

    The City is also excited to welcome some event partners to the event including the Oshawa Art Association, the Oshawa Museum, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, the LivingRoom Art Studio and others. Following the event, the McLaughlin Branch of the Oshawa Public Libraries will be hosting an After Party from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. that will feature holiday jazz performed by the Bruce Gorrie Trio and children’s holiday games.

    The City encourages participants to be environmentally conscious by bringing their own hot chocolate mug. Event participants are also asked to bring a non-perishable food item and an unwrapped toy for donation to the Simcoe Hall Settlement House.

    For more information about the event, visit www.oshawa.ca/events

  • City of Oshawa announces free active drop-in Fridays for youth

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    ancing, basketball, sports tournaments and more will keep Oshawa’s youth active at the City of Oshawa’s free drop-in program on Friday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the South Oshawa Community Centre.

    The Active Youth for Life drop-in program is open to Oshawa youth ages 13 to 17. Youth are invited to drop-in and play basketball, dance, enjoy the Youth Room, participate in tournaments and workshops, and much more. Participants will gain valuable leadership and planning skills, as they will take part in programming the weekly activities.

    “This program is a great way for young people to get together to socialize and keep active while having some fun,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee.


    For the 2016/2017 school year, the weekly drop-ins run through to June 16, 2017 (with the exception of holidays and holiday/school breaks). To confirm program dates, and for more information, visit www.oshawa.ca/activeyouth.

    Active Youth for Life is a two-year program funded by the Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund.

  • Our Oshawa is steeped in history and pride

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    Trooper Don White Our Oshawa video.

  • Oshawa Wins Second Gold Award for its Website

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    Oshawa’s website has once again been internationally recognized for creative excellence, this time as a Gold Winner in MarCom Awards’ Digital Media Government website category. MarCom Awards is a prestigious international competition that recognizes outstanding work in the communication and marketing industry.

    “The City’s website was a successful collaborative project. Input from City staff, residents, business leaders and community partners helped shape the website,” said Councillor Amy England, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee. “I am extremely excited that our website caught the attention of the international panel of judges and recognized everyone’s hard work and creativity.”

    The majority of the City’s website content was rewritten and reorganized to make it easier to find information. Additionally, a subscribefeature was added that provides users the convenience of subscribing to news, alerts and e-newsletters so that information is delivered directly to their email inbox. All these features and more are captured in a video, which was created to provide a visual tour of the website. The video is available on the “OshawaCity” YouTube channel.

    The MarCom Awards 2016 competition received approximately 6,000 entries from companies and organizations worldwide. The winners were selected from over 300 categories. For a list of the 2016 winners, visit http://marcomawards.com/.

    MarCom Awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). AMCP judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. To learn more, visit www.amcpros.com.

    For updates on the City of Oshawa, visit www.oshawa.ca and sign up for news, alerts and e-newsletters. Stay connected with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Connect Oshawa.


  • Stay connected & be informed for your chance to win!

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    Subscribe at www.oshawa.ca or register on Connect Oshawa for your chance to win Oshawa Generals tickets!

  • Grade 5 student, Samuel, wins Mayor for a Day contest

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    2016 Mayor for a Day announcement.
  • LED Streetlight Installation Underway in the City of Oshawa

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    The City of Oshawa, working in partnership with the Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation (O.P.U.C.), is upgrading its streetlight system to energy-efficient, light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights to reduce energy costs and provide a smarter, environmentally-friendly option. The new lighting system installation began the week of October 17 and will replace approximately 12,700 streetlights by spring 2017.

    The new LED fixtures will help reduce streetlight energy consumption by approximately 60% and reduce streetlight utility costs because LEDs require less electricity than the high-pressure sodium lights they are replacing. The upgrade will reduce annual streetlight maintenance costs by up to 80% because LEDs are a solid state technology (with no moving parts) and last up to four times longer than the City's existing streetlights.

    Converting all of Oshawa’s streetlights to LED will reduce the City’s carbon footprint by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by estimated 432 metric tons per year and approximately 9,925 metric tons over the lifetime of the fixture. This is the equivalent of the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling 3,150 tons of waste instead of landfilling them.

    “Street lights add a level of safety and security throughout Oshawa and switching to LED lights allows the City to provide this while reducing our carbon footprint helping our environment,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee.

    “The City has achieved a classic win-win on this project,” said Councillor Nancy Diamond, Chair, Finance Committee. “Our community will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in reduced energy costs, while, at the same time, providing better, environmentally-friendly lighting”.

    LED fixtures have been proven to reduce light pollution. They are designed to diffuse and distribute the light in a more precise manner than traditional streetlights thus reducing glare and lighting only targeted areas.

    LAS (Local Authority Services) and RealTerm Energy will provide a turnkey solution for the conversion of the City’s streetlights. This will include a Geographic Information System (G.I.S.) audit, photometric design, procurement, installation, certified recycling and a 10-year warranty. Working with the O.P.U.C., RealTerm Energy will also be making significant improvements to many light locations, which will lower maintenance costs in the future.

    “The partnership between the City of Oshawa, the O.P.U.C., LAS and RealTerm Energy demonstrates the City’s commitment to go beyond the normal scope of an LED upgrade, providing cost-savings opportunities and benefits to the community,” said Kerry Wilson, RealTerm Energy’s Managing Director, Business Solutions.

    To date, over 150 Ontario municipalities have chosen to upgrade to LED street lighting with LAS and RealTerm Energy including London, Niagara Falls and Barrie.

    Quick Project Overview

    • Total number of fixtures: 10,371 cobra head and 2,332 decorative
    • Estimated annual electricity consumption reduction: 60%
    • Estimated annual maintenance cost savings: 80%
    • Estimated annual greenhouse gas reduction: 432 metric tons

  • New art collaboration announced

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    At a ceremony celebrating the City of Oshawa and Durham College community mural, a new art collaboration was announced for the 2016/2017 School of Media, Art and Design Community Collaboration students.

    Inspired by Canada’s 150th celebration and driven by the multitude of community anniversaries and milestones in 2016 and 2017, the new project will see this year’s students visually capture the contribution of these community organizations to Oshawa, and vice versa.

    “Today we officially unveiled the community mural in front of City Hall and although the weather didn’t cooperate I was pleased with the number of people that attended to see this colourful addition to our Civic Square,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee. “I was also pleased to announce that the City and Durham College are working on another art collaboration to be unveiled in 2017. This project will highlight the work done by our amazing community organizations and will be a way to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary.”

    Community organizations celebrating milestones include the Oshawa Civic Band, Storm Ringette, and Ontario Regiment/Ontario Regiment Museum in 2016, and Parkwood Estate, Oshawa Art Association, Durham Artfest/Oshawa Space, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa Historical Society/Oshawa Museum, Durham College, Ontario Philharmonic, Simcoe United Church, Francophone Organizations Council of Durham Region, and the Oshawa Church Hockey League in 2017.

    Each student will be assigned an organization, or a time-period for that organization, for example one student will cover the first 50 years of Parkwood Estate, while another will address the second 50. Their completed projects will be installed on windows of the Arts Resource Centre in spring 2017.

    This collaboration comes on the tail of the recently completed community mural project. The success of the first project, designed by Allanah Larsen and now available for public viewing on the retaining wall facing Centre Street outside of City Hall, has laid the framework for future projects.

  • Seeking community achievements and milestones

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    What makes Oshawa an amazing city? We think it’s you! The City of Oshawa is calling on residents, organizations and businesses to share their 2016 achievements and milestones.

    The theme of the City’s 2016 Our Oshawa publication is “A Connected Community” and is currently in development. The year-in-review publication will feature the achievements of the City and local organizations, service clubs, businesses and residents, as well as highlight the partnerships and collaborative projects that make Oshawa an amazing and connected city.

    Share your 2016 “Our Oshawa” story with us:

    “Highlighting the good things that we do as a community is important to share with each other and the Our Oshawa conversation is a celebration of those accomplishments,” says Councillor Amy McQuaid-England, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee.

    The 2016 Our Oshawa publication will be distributed throughout the city in early 2017. For more information, visit www.connectoshawa.ca/OurOshawa. Use #OurOshawa on Twitter and Instagram if you would like us to share your photos.


  • Oshawa Ward Boundary Review has begun

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    In response to the ballot question on the 2014 Municipal Election, the City of Oshawa has begun the process to reintroduce wards, which are essentially electoral subdivisions. A ward boundary review, led by independent consultants Watson and Associates Economists Ltd. and Dr. Robert Williams, will establish new boundaries for the 2018 Municipal Elections.


Page last updated: 31 Oct 2023, 08:44 AM