Oakville Museum's 2026–2030 strategic plan: digitize 40 per cent of the collection by 2028 and get the museum noticed

What Council approved

On June 22, 2026, Oakville Town Council approved a five-year strategic plan for the Oakville Museum, the Town-owned museum at Erchless Estate, 8 Navy Street, at the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek. The motion was moved by Councillor Chisholm and seconded by Councillor Lishchyna, and the minutes record it as carried. The Town's page on the plan says the approval was unanimous.

The plan was written by the consultancy Know History with museum and Town staff. The published document, the Town's release and its web page call it the Strategic Plan 2026–2030; the Council minutes title the same item 2026–2031.

The problem it sets out to fix

The plan's central finding is that the museum is valued by the people who use it and unknown to many who do not. It says many residents, including long-time ones, are unaware the museum exists or what it offers, and quotes one participant calling it the best kept secret in Oakville. It points to limited signage, and to a website, ticketing system and marketing shared with the Town.

It also records an accessibility problem: some exhibits are on the second floor of Erchless Estate, out of reach of wheelchair users and people with limited mobility. And it describes a small team at capacity, with four full-time and two permanent part-time employees and a 2026 budget of $725,600, for a museum it says welcomes more than 20,000 visitors a year at the estate.

The targets

The plan groups these under five priorities: awareness and visibility, digital access, community connections, visitor experience and organizational capacity. The Town's release said visitors can expect more hands-on exhibits, more outdoor programming, expanded walking tours and rotating exhibitions that bring more of the stored collection out.

What it does not commit

Approval did not add staff or money. On staffing the plan's wording is to advocate for more positions, including full-time ones, through the Town's yearly budget and through grants. The second-floor access problem has no dated fix: the plan lists improving accessibility options, off-site programming and alternative formats as its focus for 2028.

How it was written

Know History held two staff workshops in late February 2026 and four virtual sessions with partners on March 11 that drew more than 50 participants. A public drop-in followed at the Coach House on March 25, and a survey that closed on April 10 received 101 responses, 95 of them from local residents.

Where it stands now

As of November 9, 2026, the plan is posted on the Town's website and is in its first year. One early item is visible: the museum has published a new logo, drawn from Erchless Estate, on a page titled A New Look for a Living History. The Town's plan page carries no progress report against the other targets, and the staffing goal depends on budgets the next Council has yet to set.