town, regional municipality of Halton, southeastern Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Toronto. Oakville is situated on Lake Ontario at the mouth of Oakville Creek. It was founded in 1830 by Colonel William K. Chisholm, who established shipbuilding yards there. It was originally incorporated in 1857, and in 1962 it amalgamated with Trafalgar Township to form the new town of Oakville, which, occupying 69,000 acres (28,900 hectares) and spreading northward for some 14 miles (22.5 km) from Lake Ontario, claims to be Canada's largest town in area. An industrial community, it is the site of one of Canada's largest automobile plants. Pop. (2006) 165,613.