Samac (Oshawa)

Around the Neighbourhood

Cultural landmarks: Ontario Tech University and the Durham College Oshawa campus, the anchors of the north end; and Camp Samac, the historic 150-acre Scouts Canada camp on Simcoe Street North, donated by Sam McLaughlin and now a designated Ontario heritage property.

Hot local spots: campus-adjacent shops and services cluster along Simcoe Street North and Conlin Road near the universities. 

Parks & green space: Camp Samac’s wooded trails and the surrounding conservation lands, plus neighbourhood parks and the Oshawa Creek greenbelt for everyday walks.

Your Typical Neighbour

Samac is more mixed than most Oshawa neighbourhoods. You get settled families in the subdivisions alongside students and young renters near the campuses, which keeps the demographic younger and more transient than, say, Windfields next door. Oshawa is Durham’s largest city, home to roughly 175,000 people as of the 2021 census, with a median household income of about $86,000. Community-level figures for Samac are not published separately, so these are municipality-wide numbers.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census, Oshawa

What We Love

The green space is the quiet standout. Having Camp Samac’s protected woods and trails in the middle of a growing neighbourhood is a genuine perk, and the heritage designation means it isn’t getting paved over. The two campuses bring amenities, jobs and a reliable rental market, which is a real draw for investors and for parents buying while a kid studies here. And the housing is newer than most of the city, so layouts feel current.

What We Don't Love

The university crowd cuts both ways. Streets nearest the campuses see more rentals, parking pressure and turnover, so a family street and a student street can be a block apart and feel very different… walk it before you buy. Simcoe Street traffic gets heavy around class times, and like the rest of north Oshawa, you’re committing to a car and a real drive to the GO train.

Real Estate

Samac is a blend of single-detached homes, semis and townhomes, with newer 2000s subdivisions on the family side and a layer of student rentals and purpose-built rental closer to the campuses. It draws end users chasing newer homes and green space, plus investors who want steady student demand. That dual market is worth understanding before you buy or rent out here. New to the market? Start with our First-Time Buyer guide.

(Current prices and days on market appear in the live statistics block below, updated quarterly.)

Transit

Samac runs on cars, with a useful transit exception: Durham Region Transit and GO buses serve the Ontario Tech and Durham College campuses directly, so students often skip the car. For the commuter train, Oshawa GO on the Lakeshore East line is about a 12-to-18-minute drive south at 915 Bloor Street West, roughly an hour to Union. Highway 407 crosses north Oshawa and the 401 sits to the south.

Schools

Samac is served by the Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. Public options in and around the community include Sherwood Public School on Ormond Drive and Kedron Public School on Ritson Road North, with Maxwell Heights Secondary School among the high-school options for the north end. For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Durham Region School Map.