City Profile

• Orillia Learning Centre
• Orillia campus of Georgian College
• Orillia campus of Lakehead University

These institutions ensure Orillia has a strong base of well-trained and skilled workers and provide local support to help businesses develop and implement customized training programs.

Orillia offers an array of specialized health-care services, social services, and long-term care facilities.

Long before, deep on the floor of The Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Couchiching, natives constructed their fish weirs, now an archaeological treasure older than the Egyptian pyramids.

Nearly 400 years ago, Samuel de Champlain made his way through Orillia and, in the following century, fur traders and explorers travelled the area extensively.

By the early 1900s, Orillia was a bustling town and became the first municipality in North America to build its own hydro-electric power plant. This energy powered an industrial boom with sawmills, iron foundries, and a host of manufacturing companies producing farm implements, carriages, and automobiles and shipping these products across Canada.

The town was not just defined by its bustling foundries. Orillia also boasted the best Opera House north of Toronto. With the expansion of the railways, thousands arrived each summer for picnics and holidaying at Couchiching Park.

Always a progressive community, Orillia was the first municipality to introduce Daylight Saving Time in 1912 and printed its own money during the Great Depression as a form of relief.

During World War II, Orillia produced munitions and aircraft parts at plants that later began manufacturing equipment for the mining and pulp and paper industry.

Orillia was incorporated as a city in 1969. Today, Orillia is as popular a vacation spot as it was a century ago and proudly celebrates its heritage by working hard to preserve historic properties in the downtown. It owns three of the most prominent and attractive 19th-century buildings in the core - the landmark Orillia Opera House, the Sir Sam Steele Memorial Building and Central Public School. These buildings and others can be enjoyed as part of the Walking Tour of Historic Orillia.

To gain more insight in to Orillia's rich history, visit our Library's William Frost Scrapbook collection. This collection is full of amazing photos and information dating back to the late 1800's.

For information regarding Orillia's Heritage Designated Buildings, please see this page.

It is important that housing meets the needs of all residents and respond to changes in demographics and shifts in demand. Communities are becoming increasingly diverse and the housing supply needs to respond to this diversity as well as maintain its sense of community and character.

Orillia's Housing Future

It's predicted the City of Orillia will experience a population increase to 41,000 by 2031, which means a corresponding number of housing units will need to be introduced in order for the Orillia housing market to keep up with this anticipated growth.

Not only will there be a need in the numbers of units to increase but also the variety. Affordable Housing options for those with limited incomes, including students, young families and seniors will be required to accommodate changing needs  in the community. Orillia has already taken its first steps with the creation of the Orillia Affordable Housing Action Plan.

With the introduction of the Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) initiative announced by the Province for 2011-2015, front line agencies involved in housing could receive funds for the development of housing in Orillia.

The Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) and other publications including MoneySense have ranked Orillia as being part of the top towns to invest in.

Orillia's average housing price indicates a market with great investment opportunities.  In conjunction with the increased investment opportunity. City Staff have created information to help owners and developers responsibly convert single dwellings to multi-unit dwellings in order to create safe dwelling units, as well as, increase their profits and the City's housing options. 

The City is currently in the process of working to streamline its Site Plan Approval process to decrease the time spent on approvals for developers who are looking to build in Orillia.

Both the Economic Development and Housing Committees are key advocates and supporters of a prosperous and healthy housing future in Orillia.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website has information and programs to assist you. 

The City, through the Economic Development Office (EDO) continues to collaborate with community organizations and business to support, promote and facilitate growth as a tourist destination.

In 2015, Orillia City Council move forward with an Orillia First tourism approach by adopting recommendations to expand the EDO into a organizations department and hiring a Manager of Tourism who will take a lead role in the co-ordination of co-operative efforts to promote the city and its tourism-related businesses, events, festivals, cultural opportunities and attractions to potential visitors from the surrounding region, the Greater Toronto Area and beyond

In addition, the EDO will foster the development and acquisition of resources facilitating the provision of tourism-related services and events, as well as improving the capacity of the community to enhance tourism.

To guide future tourism activities, the development of a 3-Year Tourism Strategic Action Plan and a 1-Year Implementation Plan is currently under way.

Areas of responsibilities include:

• Coordination of tourism roles/responsibilities
• Tourism branding
• Events catalogue
• Orillia Festivals Committee action plans
• Funding - private/community/government
• Promotion/advertising/marketing
• Regional co-operation
• Events promotion and coordination
• Volunteer development
• Visitor surveys
• Results-oriented approach and tracking 

Orillia is well connected. Located in the economic bread basket of Ontario, Orillia boasts easy access to major markets - by road, air, water, or rail. This enables industries and businesses to receive materials and deliver finished products competitively and in a timely manner. Residents of Orillia can also get to and from Toronto, the United States, and all points in between, without the headaches of living in a major centre.

Orillia is located:

• Approximately 200 kilometres (140 miles) from the Canada/U.S. border
• Within 10 hours' drive from major Canadian and U.S. markets along the Great Lakes and into Quebec
• Just 115 kilometres (72 miles) from Pearson International Airport, Canada's busiest airport
• 20 minutes from Lake Simcoe Regional Airport