Oshawa

Oshawa is a city of 160,000 people (2016) in southern Ontario, 50 km east of Toronto.

Understand

The name Oshawa originates from the Ojibwa term aazhaway, meaning "the crossing place" or just "(a)cross".

While Oshawa is rapidly becoming merely the eastern edge of Toronto's sprawling surrounding urban area, it was long best known for manufacturing motorcars. Col. Sam McLaughlin established the McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited in 1907 as the successor to his father's McLaughlin Carriage Company. He became director and vice president of General Motors Corporation in 1916; the Oshawa factory became General Motors Canada in 1918. The last Oshawa-built Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles will hit the road in 2019, ending a 112-year history which inspired Oshawa's former mottos "The City that Motovates Canada" and "The City in Motion".

Today, Oshawa is an education and health sciences hub. The city is home to three post-secondary institutions (Durham College, Trent University Durham and University of Ontario Institute of Technology) and to Lakeridge Health Oshawa, Lakeridge Health and Education Research Network (LHEARN Centre) and the Oshawa Clinic, the largest, multi-specialty medical group practice in Canada.

Get in

By car

Oshawa is on Highway 401, exits 415 through 418. All interchanges exit to Bloor Street in the city's south end. Highway 2 (King Street) is the main street of downtown Oshawa.

By train
See also: Rail travel in Canada

By bus

Intercity express bus service in the Montréal-Toronto corridor stops in Whitby, an Oshawa suburb, at the Whitby GO commuter rail station. Express bus service from Greater Toronto Area to Oshawa are provided by GO Transit.

By plane

Get around

By public transit

By taxi

By ride hailing
  • Lyft. (updated Aug 2022)
  • Uber. (updated Aug 2022)

See
  • 🌍 Canadian Automotive Museum, 99 Simcoe Street S, L1G 4G7, ☏ +1 905-576-1222, fax: +1 905-576-1223. M-F 10AM-4:30PM, Sa Su 10AM-4PM (closed on Su Nov-Feb). A two-floor trip through old-time cars in a former car dealership. Cars on display include a hundred-year-old fire truck, a Ford Model T, a boat/car hybrid, a steam powered car, one of the world's first Rolls-Royces and a 1983 Delorean. $12 (adult), $10 (senior), $6 (child 6-17). 
  • 🌍 Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum, 1000 Stevenson Rd N, L1J 5P5 (South Field, Oshawa Municipal Airport), ☏ +1 905-728-6199. Sa Su 1-5PM. Tanks, historic vehicles, regimental artefacts. By donation. 

  • 🌍 Parkwood Estate Gardens (Parkwood National Historic Site), 270 Simcoe Street North (Adelaide and Simcoe Streets), ☏ +1 905-433-4311, fax: +1 905-721-4765, . Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM. Grand private estate built in 1917 for Canadian automobile businessman Col. Sam McLaughlin includes a mansion with several gardens, Art Deco garden pavilions, secret rooms, ornate ceilings and even a bowling alley. A National Historic Site of Canada, it has been used as a set for many films, including It, Billy Madison, Chicago, and X-Men. 

Do
  • 🌍 Darlington Provincial Park, 1600 Darlington Park Rd, ☏ +1 905-436-2036. Located on Lake Ontario and McLaughlin Bay, the park provides swimming on a large sandy beach and canoeing on the sheltered bay. A large campground accommodates a range of car camping equipment from tents to RVs. The park provides a typical provincial park camping experience relatively close to the city, making it a good choice for beginner campers who want to test their skills and equipment, but with the stores and services of the city a short drive away. The park is open for snowshoeing and cross country skiing in winter. (updated Jul 2023)
  • 🌍 Linton's Farm Market, 571 Raglan Rd E, L1H 7K4, ☏ +1 905-655-6338, . From their website: Over 50 years ago the Lintons' started growing tomatoes for a canning company and gradually added more and more vegetables and fruit and a farm market stand where they now sell a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, homegrown frozen meat, cheese, honey, jams, preserves, fall decorations (etc.) (updated Mar 2016)

Buy
  • Oshawa Centre, 419 King St W at Stevenson Road. M-Sa 9:30AM-9PM, Su 11AM-6PM. The largest mall in Durham region. Theres a Durham Region Transit's bus terminal outside of the mall's south-east entrance, with regular bus services to Oshawa GO Station, Whitby GO Station, and the campuses of Durham College. (updated Jun 2018)

Eat

Drink

Sleep
  • La Quinta Inn & Suites, 63 King St E, ☏ +1 905-888-3800. Free Wifi, free parking, breakfast included, non-smoking hotel, suites, fitness centre. From $89. (updated Jun 2018)
  • Paddington Place Bed & Breakfast, 413 Paddington Cres, ☏ +1 905-404-5448. On a mature stretch of protected greenbelt space with lovely wooded trails and meandering creek. Air-conditioned and smoke-free. From $109. (updated Jun 2018)
  • Travelodge, 940 Champlain Ave (just off Highway 401), toll-free: +1-800-525-4055. Free WiFi, free breakfast buffet, onsite parking, pet friendly, pool - indoor, fitness centre. (updated Jun 2018)

Connect

Learn

Oshawa is home to two post-secondary institutions, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College. They share a campus on the northern side of Oshawa.

  • 🌍 University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). The newest university in Ontario. It offers unique programs that are not commonly found in other schools, such as their "Game Development and Entrepreneurship", "Networking and IT Security" and "Automotive Engineering" programs. (updated Dec 2017)
  • 🌍 Durham College. (updated Dec 2017)

Go next
Routes through Oshawa
Toronto ←  W  E  → Port Hope → Montreal / Ottawa
Toronto ← Whitby ←  W  E  → Clarington → Kingston
Markham ← Whitby ←  W  E  → Clarington → ENDS at
Toronto ← Whitby ←  W  E  → END


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