Incentives and Programs
Companies that locate in Oshawa enjoy the benefits associated with doing business in Ontario, Canada. In addition to having a stable financial system, Canada's overall marginal effective tax rate is the lowest in the G7 and Canada offers the lowest business costs in G7 for R&D intensive sectors (KPMG Competitive Alternatives Study, 2014).
Local Incentives
The City of Oshawa has a rich history of involvement in efforts to improve the community. These Community Improvement Incentives, fully approved by the Province of Ontario, are just one more way that Oshawa works with private sector partners to re-invest in our great city.
The following are the available Community Improvement Incentives within the City of Oshawa:
- Urban Growth Centre Community Improvement Plan
- Simcoe Street South Renaissance Community Improvement Plan
- Wentworth Street West Community Improvement Plan
- Brownfields Renaissance Community Improvement Plan
- Harbour Road Area Community Improvement Plan
Downtown
| Downtown Development Charges |
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No Development Charges shall be imposed with respect to any Development (DC By-law Section 2.5): On lands wholly within that part of Oshawa partially known as the Urban Growth Centre and as depicted in Schedule “D” to this By-law:
Respecting an Apartment Dwelling Unit or a Townhouse Dwelling Unit, except back to back Townhouses, on lands within that part of Oshawa as shown as the shaded portion of the map in Schedule “F” to this By-law:
City of Oshawa Development Charge By-law No. 60-2019, as amended (Schedule B.3), provides for a downtown exemption area for Residential and Non-Residential development charges and specifies a number of specific use exemptions for Non-Residential development charges; and exemptions for industrial, temporary and agricultural buildings. City of Oshawa By-law No. 60-2019, as amended, provides for an exemption for Apartment Dwelling Units in the areas as shown in Schedules E, F and G to the By-law. Per City of Oshawa By-law No.60-2019, as amended, Back-to-Back Townhouses and formerly Group Dwelling Units are considered Townhouse Dwelling, Stacked Townhouses (two bedrooms or less) are considered Apartment (two or more bedrooms). |
| Downtown Parkland Dedication - Cash-in-Lieu |
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Under Section 13, the by-law states that notwithstanding any other provision of this by-law to the contrary, this by-law does not apply to: Development on lands wholly within that part of Oshawa known as the Central Business District Renaissance Community Improvement Area and as depicted in Schedule “A” to this By-law”:
There is a downtown exemption area for Cash-in-Lieu that is similar to the downtown exemption area for City’s development charges. For mixed use and other exemptions, refer to By-law 91-2007, as amended. CIL applies to areas outside of subdivisions only. Cash-in-Lieu rates for Retirement Homes are the same as Apartment Cash-in-Lieu rates. |
Provincial and Federal Incentives
There are also a number of Provincial Incentives and Federal Incentives that are available in commercialization, exporting, human resources as well as research and development.
Programs
Connections Program
The Oshawa Connections program is our business visitation program designed to connect one-on-one with local businesses to discuss the experiences and opportunities in our community. The purpose of these one-on-one meetings is to:
- identify needs, concerns and opportunities
- learn more about the type of work businesses in Oshawa are undertaking
- open the lines of communication and provide links to applicable resources