What Oakville residents told the Town they want from the 2027 budget
A Nanos Research survey presented to Council ranks public safety, taxes and infrastructure as residents' top priorities, finds broad support for core services — and shows most residents don't follow the budget at all.
The details
What the survey is
The 2026 Town of Oakville Resident Survey, conducted by Nanos Research using a random dual-frame telephone method that reached residents on both landline and cellular numbers, went to Council on September 28 as a staff memo tied to direction for the 2027 budget.
What residents put first
The survey found strong, broadly consistent support for core municipal services, with public safety and fiscal discipline at the top across demographic groups. The shares of residents rating each area important:
- 88%
- 84%
- 81%
- 79%
- 78%
- 77%
- 74%
- 68%
Housing and growth
Affordable housing was called important by 68 per cent of residents, with higher importance among younger residents. Views on growth were more divided, though a majority — 52.5 per cent — said they support or somewhat support housing density near GO Transit stations.
Few residents follow the budget
About 70 per cent of respondents said they do not follow the Town's budget process at all, a gap most pronounced among residents aged 18 to 34. Staff frame this as a reason to strengthen budget engagement, and present the survey as one input — alongside Council's priorities, legislative obligations and long-term financial plans — into the 2027 budget.