Oshawa

===Start of the automotive industry===
{{Main|McLaughlin Motor Car Company}}
[[Samuel McLaughlin|Col. R. S. McLaughlin]] and [[William C. Durant|"Billy" Durant]] signed a 15-year contract in 1907, under which the [[McLaughlin Motor Car Company]] began to manufacture automobiles under the McLaughlin name, using [[Buick]] engines and other mechanical parts. 1908 Buick was merged into [[General Motors Holding]] shortly after, and in 1915 the firm acquired the manufacturing rights to the [[Chevrolet]] brand. Within three years, the McLaughlin Motor Car Company and the Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada owned the General Motors Holding in 1916 he in 1918 merged his Chevrolet and Buick, creating [[General Motors of Canada]] in 1918 with McLaughlin as President.<ref name="cruickshank">[https://www.thestar.com/autos/2016/11/19/eye-candy-1918-mclaughlin-buick.html "Eye Candy: 1918 McLaughlin Buick" The Archives in the Pennsylvania State University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123052721/https://www.thestar.com/autos/2016/11/19/eye-candy-1918-mclaughlin-buick.html |date=23 November 2016 }}. ''Toronto Star'', 19 November 2016, Donald Cruickshank, page W2.</ref><ref name="Martin2009">{{Cite book |last=Joe Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx3rlyXbv1UC&pg=PT101 |title=Relentless Change: A Casebook for the Study of Canadian Business History |date=19 September 2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-9715-7 |pages=101– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328004012/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx3rlyXbv1UC&pg=PT101 |archive-date=28 March 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The factory expanded rapidly, eventually covering several blocks. The growing usage of the automobile in the 1920s generated rapid expansion of Oshawa, which grew in population from 4,000 to 16,000 during this decade, and of its land area. In 1924, Oshawa annexed the area to its south, including the harbour and the community of Cedardale. This growth allowed Oshawa to seek incorporation as a city, which took place on 8 March 1924.

With the wealth he gained in his business venture, between 1915 and 1917, McLaughlin built one of the most stately homes in Canada, "[[Parkwood Estate|Parkwood]]". The 55-room residence was initially designed by Toronto architect firm Darling and Pearson as well as John M. Lyle in the late 1930s. McLaughlin lived in the house for 55 years with his wife and they raised five daughters. The house replaced an older mansion, which was about 30 years old when it was demolished; the grounds of the earlier home had been operated as Prospect Park, and this land was acquired by the town and became its first municipal park, Alexandra Park. Parkwood today is open to the public as a National Historic Site. Tours are offered.