Voters in Mississauga head to the polls Monday to elect the mayor of one of Ontario’s largest cities – only its third leader in nearly five decades – in an increasingly tight race that has focused on affordability, housing and future development.
The municipal election in Mississauga, which celebrates its 50th anniversary as a city this year, is the city’s first without a clear front-runner or incumbent. It was triggered by the resignation of Bonnie Crombie, who quit midway into her third term earlier this year to become leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
The mayoral race has also centred around Mississauga’s identity and how to turn the once-traditional suburb into a destination in its own right. The character of the city was largely defined by the tenure of the late Hazel McCallion, who was elected 12 times beginning in 1978 and served as mayor for 36 years. Under her watch, Mississauga transformed from sleepy suburb just west of Toronto into one of Canada’s largest and most diverse urban centres – one that is now plagued by modern problems such as a dearth of public transit and affordable housing.
The next mayor will also work closely with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, as well as the federal Liberal government, as both parties look to shore up support in the vote-rich region in their next election campaigns.
Political watchers and pollsters say the race has tightened up considerably in recent days, with no clear front-runner among the 20 candidates. The most well-known contender, Carolyn Parrish, a former Liberal MP and city councillor, had been well ahead in local polls throughout the race, but her lead has apparently slipped in recent days. And she has come under fire from fellow candidates for skipping leadership debates, purportedly because her office received threats after comments she made at one debate about refugees and the LGBTQ community, which Ms. Parrish said were taken out of context.
The other contenders include Mississauga City Councillor Dipika Damerla, a former Ontario Liberal MPP and cabinet minister in Kathleen Wynne’s government; Alvin Tedjo, a first-term city councillor who previously ran for Ontario Liberal leader; and Stephen Dasko, a two-term city councillor.
Ms. Crombie, who is not endorsing a mayoral candidate, said last week it’s not clear who has the advantage in the summer by-election.
“It’s still a moving target, anybody can win,” she told reporters at Queen’s Park.
Sue Klein-Shanly, chair of the Mississauga Residents’ Associations Network, said one of the biggest questions in the race is what Mississauga is going to look like for the next 25 to 50 years.
“We’ve got growing pains. We were a bedroom community built on the car,” she said.
Housing has been one of the top issues. The city has already reached its geographical borders for development, with advocates calling for the removal of exclusionary zoning to build a greater variety of homes. And non-profit organizations are pushing for a “new deal” with the province, as the region faces a funding shortfall for social services.
Ms. Parrish, an outspoken politician who was removed from the federal Liberal caucus in 2004 by then-leader Paul Martin over comments she made about the U.S., has the highest name recognition in the city. In an interview, she defended her decision to bow out of the debates, adding that she has attended about 60 meetings with community groups.
Her pitch to voters is about experience and a solid housing plan, which includes developing housing at a large mall in the city, as well as converting office space into a mixed-use community. She said she can work with anyone at the provincial or federal levels.
“As you get experienced in this job, you realize you don’t fight with people who hold the purse strings,” she said.
She said she focused her attention on events instead of debates after her office received “wild threats” when clips of her at a debate she attended circulated on social media.
Ms. Damerla, who has sharply criticized Ms. Parrish throughout the race, is also running as a candidate with experience to lead.
She said she is the fiscally responsible candidate who would keep property taxes at or below the rate of inflation, adding that it’s not realistic to freeze them without affecting services.
She also wants to further define Mississauga’s character through its arts and culture scene.
“We’ve sort of benefited from being in proximity to Toronto‚ but it’s also, in some ways, stunted our growth,” she said.
“Now, you know, we are nobody’s suburb and we’re carving out our own identity.”
Mr. Tedjo, a 40-year-old father of three, is running his campaign on a message of fresh leadership and livability.
Mississauga, built as a traditional suburb with cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets, now has limited walking and biking routes, he said, and the next phase should focus on transit-oriented communities.
He is the only candidate proposing to freeze property taxes for two years. And he also wants to speed up housing development, including purpose-built rentals and affordable housing. He said he wants to ensure his children have an opportunity to live in Mississauga when they get older.
“If we make the changes now that we need to make it easier to build more housing, then they’ll have that chance. Otherwise they won’t,” he said.
Mr. Dasko, a former technology executive, said he’s presenting himself as a practical, consultative leader. He’s running on a campaign focused on lowering taxes, public safety and transportation, including trying to bring a long-needed subway to the area, which Ms. McCallion turned down twice as mayor.
Laura Stone