Mississauga

Mississauga
City (lower-tier)
City of Mississauga
From top, left to right: Mississauga City Centre, the Mississauga Civic Centre, Health Sciences Complex at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Old Grammar School in Streetsville, the Credit River, 282 Church Street, Absolute World towers, the St. Lawrence bay in Port Credit, and the M City Condominiums
Flag Logo
Motto(s):  Pride in our past, faith in our future Leading Today for Tomorrow
Location of Mississauga in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the province of Ontario
Mississauga Location of Mississauga in southern Ontario
Coordinates: 43°36′N 79°39′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Peel
Toronto Township	1805
Incorporated	1968 (town) 1974 (city)
Government
• Mayor	Carolyn Parrish
• Council	Mississauga City Council
• MPs	List of MPs Omar Alghabra (L) Peter Fonseca (L) Iqwinder Gaheer (L) Iqra Khalid (L) Charles Sousa (L) Rechie Valdez (L)
• MPPs	List of MPPs Deepak Anand (PC) Rudy Cuzzetto (PC) Natalia Kusendova (PC) Silvia Gualtieri (PC) Sheref Sabawy (PC) Nina Tangri (PC)
Area
• Total	292.74 km2 (113.03 sq mi)
Elevation	156 m (512 ft)
Population  (2021)
• Total	717,961 (7th)
• Density	2,452.5/km2 (6,352/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Forward sortation area	L4T to L5W & M7R
Area code(s)	905, 289, 365, and 742
Demonym	Mississaugan Saugan Mississauguese
Website	www.mississauga.ca

Mississauga, Ontario is the seventh-largest city in Canada and the third largest city in Ontario (after Toronto and Ottawa). It borders the largest city in Canada, Toronto. In fact, it is a part of the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto Pearson International Airport is in Mississauga.

A Mississauga Transit Bus.

Visitor attractions

• Art Gallery of Mississauga, a free gallery in the Civic Centre showcasing local art
• Benares Historic House
• Bradley House Museum
• Living Arts Centre, a showcase for the arts
• Opera Mississauga
• Heritage Mississauga
• Portuguese Cultural Centre of Mississauga
• Renaissance Catering & Convention Centre

History

On August 2, 1805, Toronto Township was formed when officials from York (what is now the City of Toronto) purchased 84,000 acres (340 km²) of land from the Mississaugas. In January 2010, the Mississaugas and the federal government settled a land claim. The aboriginal people received $145,000,000 from that.

After the land was surveyed, much of it was given in the form of land grants to United Empire Loyalists. They emigrated from the Thirteen Colonies during and after the American Revolution, as well as loyalists from New Brunswick. A group of settlers from New York City arrived in the 1830s. In 1820, the government purchased additional land from the Mississaugas. Additional settlements were established, including: Barbertown, Britannia, Burnhamthorpe, Derry West, Elmbank, Malton, Meadowvale Village, Mount Charles, and Streetsville. European-Canadian growth led to the eventual displacement of the Mississaugas. In 1847, the government relocated them to a reserve in the Grand River Valley, near present-day Hagersville.

In 1873, the Toronto Township Council was formed to oversee the events of the various villages that were unincorporated at that time. The council's responsibilities included road maintenance, and a police force. Most of present-day Mississauga was agricultural land: including fruit orchards, through much of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Exceptions included small villages, some gristmills and brickworks served by railway lines,

In the 1920s, cottages were constructed along the shores of Lake Ontario for people who lived in the city. 17 years later in 1937, 1,410.8 acres of land was sold to build the Malton Airport (later known as the Pearson Airport). It became Canada's busiest airport which also put the end to the community of Elmank.

The township settlements of Lakeview, Cooksville, Lorne Park, Clarkson, Erindale, Sheridan, Dixie, Meadowvale Village, and Malton were combined in 1968 to form the Town of Mississauga. At the time, both Port Credit and Streetsville were left out and remained separate. The town name was chosen by voting. In 1974, Port Credit and Streetsville became part of Mississauga. In that same year, the Square One Shopping Centre opened.

On November 10, 1979, a freight train left its tracks on the Canadian Pacific rail line while carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals just north of the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas Street. One of the tank cars carrying propane exploded. Since other tank cars were carrying chlorine, the decision was made to evacuate nearby residents. With the possibility of a deadly cloud of chlorine gas spreading through Mississauga, 218,000 people were evacuated. Residents were allowed to return home, once the area was safe. It was one of the largest evacuations in North American history.

Geography

Overview map of Mississauga.

Mississauga covers 292.74 square kilometres (113.03 sq mi) of land, with 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of shoreline on Lake Ontario.

Statistics

Mississauga is a large and multicultural city. As of 2021, Statistics Canada counted 717,961 people in Mississauga.

Law and Government

The city of Mississauga has only had five mayors in its past and it was created in 1974. This is because in Mississauga usually mayors serve for a very long time. For example, Hazel McCallion was mayor for 36 years. The current mayor is Carolyn Parrish who assumed office in June 2024.

Mayors

• Dr. Martin L. Dobkin 1974–1976
• Ron A. Searle 1976–1978
• Hazel McCallion 1978–2014
• Bonnie Crombie 2014–2024
• Carolyn Parrish 2024–now

Council

Mississauga is split into 11 wards (parts) each of them having their own councillor.

• Ward 1 Stephen Dasko
• Ward 2 Alvin Tedjo
• Ward 3 Chris Fonseca
• Ward 4 John Kovac
• Ward 5 Natalie Hart
• Ward 6 Joe Horneck
• Ward 7 Dipika Damerla
• Ward 8 Matt Mahoney
• Ward 9 Martin Reid
• Ward 10 Sue McFadden
• Ward 11 Brad Butt

Federal and Provincial Ridings

Mississauga has six legislative (government) ridings that are the same for the Canadian government and the Ontario government. The Canadian government has people in charge of those ridings called M.P.'s (Member of Parliament) and the Ontario government has M.P.P.'s (Member of Provincial Parliament) in charge of them.

• Mississauga Centre

  M.P.: Omar Alghabra (Liberal)

  M.P.P.: Natalia Kusendova (Progressive Conservative)

• Mississauga East—Cooksville

  M.P.: Peter Fonseca (Liberal)

  M.P.P.: Silvia Gualtieri (Progressive Conservative)

• Mississauga—Erin Mills

  M.P.: Iqra Khalid (Liberal)

  M.P.P: Sheref Sabawy (Progressive Conservative)

• Mississauga—Lakeshore

  M.P.: Charles Sousa (Liberal)

  M.P.P.: Rudy Cuzzetto (Progressive Conservative)

• Mississauga—Malton

  M.P.: Iqwinder Gaheer (Liberal)

  M.P.P.: Deepak Anand (Progressive Conservative)

• Mississauga—Streetsville

  M.P.: Rechie Valdez (Liberal)

  M.P.P.: Nina Tangri (Progressive Conservative)