Oakville is a town on Lake Ontario in southern Ontario, Canada, midway between Toronto on its eastern border and Hamilton from its western border. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area metropolitan community.

Oakville's Planning Department divides the town into 12 communities. These divisions have little to do with politics and are based on traditional neighbourhoods. Oakville's Planning Department's 12 communities are:

• Old Oakville - located in South-Central Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is the original Oakville Settlement and is centred on Oakville Harbour.
• Bronte - located in Southwest Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is a community centred on Bronte Harbour and includes the Coronation Park district to its east.
• Eastlake - located in Southeast Oakville along the shore of Lake Ontario, it is bordered on the west by Morrison Creek and to the north by Cornwall Road. 2005 Town Planning documents say its eastern boundary is Winston Churchill Blvd but the same document's map shows a different configuration (see link).
• Clearview - located in Centre East Oakville, also sometimes referred to as Sherwood Heights.
• College Park - located between 16 Mile Creek and just east of Trafalgar Road, from the QEW north to Upper Middle Road, it surrounds Sheridan College.
• Iroquois Ridge North - located in North East Oakville between Upper Middle Road and Dundas Street.
• Iroquois Ridge South - located in North East Oakville. The Falgarwood area is located in the southern end of the Iroquois Ridge South community.
• Glen Abbey - located in West Oakville, it is a large area west of the Glen Abbey Golf Course
• Palermo - located in Northwest Oakville, it is a small community centred on the intersection of Dundas Street and Bronte Road (Highway 25).
• River Oaks - located in North-Central Oakville, it includes the Oak Park development.
• Uptown Core - located in North Centre Oakville. It includes the area on either side of Trafalgar Road between Dundas Street and Glenashton Drive.
• West Oak Trails - located in North Centre West Oakville, it is also a fairly recent development.

The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts houses several performances by local and international artists. It is also the performing venue for the Oakville Symphony Orchestra and the Oakville Ballet Company. The Oakville Arts Council provides further artistic talents in the town showcasing films, literary figures and visual arts.

At the municipal level, the governing body is the Oakville Town Council consisting of a mayor (currently Rob Burton) and twelve councillors. The town is divided into six wards, with two councillors elected to represent each ward.

Each ward's Town Councillor represents the ward solely on Oakville Town Council. Each ward's Town and Regional Councillor is a member of the 21-member governing council of the Regional Municipality of Halton, in addition to being a member of the 13-member Town Council.