Mississauga

City of Mississauga
Flag of City of Mississauga Flag Coat of arms of City of Mississauga Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Pride in our past, Faith in our future
Location of Mississauga in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the province of Ontario
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Peel
Established	1968, as a town
Incorporated	1974, as a city
Government
• City Mayor	Hazel McCallion
• Local government	Mississauga City Council (9 councillors)
• MPs	Navdeep Singh Bains, Albina Guarnieri, Wajid Khan, Omar Alghabra, Paul Szabo
• MPPs	Bob Delaney, Vic Dhillon, Peter Fonseca, Tim Peterson, Harinder Takhar
Elevation	173 m (568 ft)
Population  (2001)
• Total	612,925 (est. 678,000 in 2,007
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code span	L4T to L5W
Area code(s)	(905) and (289)
Website	City of Mississauga

For the First Nation, see Mississaugas.

Mississauga (pronounced: [?m?s??s?g?] ) according to mississauga.ca the population of mississauga is 700,000 in 2007, is Canada's seventh most populous municipality (Census subdivision), located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario, and part of the Greater Toronto Area. It is the most populous lower-tier municipality in Ontario and also considered the most populous suburban municipality in North America . It was purchased by the British in 1805 and incorporated as a city in 1974. Mississauga is a sister city of Kariya, Japan. Residents of Mississauga are called Mississaugans.

With seven major highways passing through the city, Mississauga offers fast and convenient access to major destinations in Canada and the United States. In addition, most of Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's busiest, is located in the city. Mississauga has doubled in population in each of the last two decades. Mississauga had the largest population growth in Canada (89,500) between the census years of 1986-1991. Another 80,994 were added between 1991-1996; an increase of 17.5% in the five-year period. From the 1996-2001 censuses, Mississauga gained a further 68,543 residents; an increase of 12.6%. A similar estimated increase has occurred between 2001 and 2006.

Despite its size, Mississauga is thought of by some as a suburb of Toronto as the two cities' urban sprawls are indistinguishably linked. As Toronto has continued to grow economically, Mississauga has followed suit, building predominantly low-density tract housing and high rise condominiums to attract individuals tired of city life. At the same time, businesses saw the benefits of locating to Mississauga - low tax rates, proximity to a number of transportation routes (air, rail, road), proximity to Toronto, and an abundance of land (at least, at the time) - and it soon became desirable to locate there. The city is debt-free and has not borrowed money since 1978.

While being in the top ten Canadian cities by population, Mississauga has few cultural institutions for a community its size due to its proximity to Toronto. It is by far the largest city in Canada without a daily newspaper (The Mississauga News is printed three days a week), and currently doesn't have any commercial radio stations. Mississauga is beginning to break away from its label as a "bedroom community" to Toronto as 25,000 more workers commute to jobs in Mississauga than leave.

Mississauga's skyline is made up of high rise condominiums

Mississauga has been trying to create a distinctive image for itself over the past few years. Plans for over 55 new high-rise residential buildings have been approved recently for the city centre area near the Square One Shopping Centre, and an international architectural design competition was held in 2006 for a 50 storey condominium tower that is intended to be a landmark for the city named Absolute World.

History

See also: Mississauga train derailment of 1979

At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the 1600s, both Iroquoian and Algonquian speaking peoples already lived in the Credit River Valley area. One of the First Nations groups the traders found around the Credit River area was called the Mississaugas, a tribe originally from Lake Huron. By 1700 the Mississaugas had driven away the Iroquois.

In 1805, government officials from York, as Toronto was then called, bought 340 square kilometres (84,000 acres) of the Mississauga Tract and in 1806 the area was opened for settlement. The various communities settled include: Cawthra, Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale (called Springfield until 1890), Port Credit, Sheridan, and Summerville. This region would become known as Toronto Township.

Toronto Township was formed on August 2, 1805 when officials from York (what is now Toronto) purchased 84,000 acres (340 km²) of land from the Mississaugas for 1,000 pounds. After the land was surveyed, much of it was given by the Crown in the form of land grants to United Empire Loyalists who emigrated from the US. More than a dozen small communities grew in this area, most of which were located near natural resources, waterways for industry and fishing, and routes leading into York. In 1873, in light of the continued growth seen in this area, the Toronto Township Council was formed to oversee the affairs of the various villages that were unincorporated at that time. The Council's responsibilities included road maintenance, the establishment of a police force, and mail delivery service.

In 1820, a second purchase was made and additional settlements established including: Barbertown, Britannia, Burnhamthorpe, Derry West, Elmbank, Malton, Meadowvale Village, Mount Charles, and Streetsville. This led to the eventual displacement of the Mississaugas and, in 1847, they were relocated to a reserve in the Grand River Valley near present-day Hagersville. Except for small villages, some grist mills and brickworks served by rail lines, most of present-day Mississauga was agricultural land, including fruit growing orchards through much of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Toronto residents would travel to the township to pick fruits and garden vegetables.

Cottages were constructed along Lake Ontario in the 1920's as weekend getaway houses for weary city dwellers.

Malton Airport opened in 1937, which would become Canada's busiest, Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The Queen Elizabeth Way highway, one of the first controlled access highways in the world opened to Hamilton and later Niagara in 1939. The first prototypical suburban developments occurred around the same time, in the area of the Dixie Road and the QEW. Development in general moved north and west from there over time and around established towns. Large scale developments such as in Meadowvale and Erin Mills sprung up in the 1960s and 70s.

With the exception of Port Credit and Streetsville, the township settlements were amalgamated by a somewhat unpopular provincial decree in 1968 to form the Town of Mississauga. The town name was chosen by plebescite over "Sheridan". Political will, as well as a belief that a larger city would be a hegemony in Peel County, kept Port Credit and Streetsville as independent island towns encircled by the Town of Mississauga. In 1974, both were annexed by Mississauga when it reincorporated as a city. That year, the sprawling Square One shopping centre opened, which has since expanded many times its original size.

On November 10, 1979, a 106-car freight train derailed while carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals just north of the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas in Mississauga. The resulting fire was allowed to burn itself out, but a ruptured chlorine tank was the main cause for concern. With the possibility of a deadly cloud of chlorine gas spreading through suburban Mississauga, 218,000 people were evacuated. Within a few days Mississauga was practically a ghost town, later when the mess had been cleared and the danger neutralized residents were allowed to return to their homes. At the time, it was the largest peacetime evacuation in North American history. Due to the speed and efficiency in which it was conducted, many cities later studied and modeled their own emergency plans after Mississauga's. For many years afterwards, the name "Mississauga" was to Canadians associated with a major rail disaster.

North American telephone customers placing calls to Mississauga (and other post 1970 Ontario cities) may not recognize the charge details on their billings, as Bell Canada continues to use the former community names, rather than "Mississauga", to identify exchanges in the city: Clarkson, Cooksville, Malton, Port Credit, Streetsville.

In 2006, an international architectural design competition was held for a 50 storey condominium tower that is intended to be a landmark for the city. The winning design, named Absolute World, by Chinese architect Yansong Ma of the MAD firm, is a bold, curvaceous tower that was dubbed the "Marilyn Monroe" for its supposed sexiness, and has received plaudits from urban architecture critics such as Christopher Hume of the Toronto Star. The building is currently scheduled to be finished by 2010.

Law/Government

File:Mississauga.jpg

Mississauga City Hall seen from the south-east.

Mississauga has had only three mayors in its history. Dr. Martin Dobkin was the city's first mayor in 1974. He was then followed by Ron A. Searle. Searle was defeated by then-city councillor and former mayor of Streetsville, Hazel McCallion. McCallion is regarded as a force in provincial politics and often referred to as Hurricane Hazel, comparing her political force to the devastating 1954 storm that struck the Toronto area. McCallion has won or been acclaimed in every mayoral election since 1978, and in recent years has not even campaigned. She was recently re-elected for her eleventh term in November 2006. McCallion is the nation's longest serving mayor and was runner-up in World Mayor 2005.

Mississauga's City Council is comprised of the mayor and 11 city councillors, each representing one of the city's eleven wards.

Mayors

Martin L. Dobkin 1974 - 1976   Ron A. Searle 1976 - 1978   Hazel McCallion 1978 - Present 

Federal/Provincial ridings

• Bramalea-Gore-Malton
• Mississauga—Erindale
• Mississauga—Brampton South
• Mississauga East—Cooksville
• Mississauga South
• Mississauga—Streetsville

Geography

Mississauga covers 288.42 square kilometres (111.4 sq mi) of land fronting 13 kilometres (8 mi) of shoreline on Lake Ontario.

Mississauga is bound by Oakville and Milton to the west, Brampton to the north, Toronto to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south. Halton Hills borders Mississauga's north-west corner. With the exception of the southern half of the border with Toronto (Etobicoke Creek), Mississauga shares a land border with all previous mentioned municipalities.

Two major river valleys feed into the lake. The Credit River is by far the longest with the heaviest flow, it divides the western side of Mississauga from the central/eastern portions and enters the lake at the Port Credit harbour. The indented, mostly forested valley was inhabited by native peoples long before European exploration of the area. The valley is protected and maintained by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA).

Etobicoke Creek forms part of the eastern border of Misssissauga with the city of Toronto. North of there it passes through Pearson Airport. There have been two aviation accidents in 1978 and 2005 where aircraft overshot the runaway and slid into the Etobicoke creek banks. Heavy flooding resulted in some homes along the riverbank being swept into the lake after heavy rains from Hurricane Hazel. Since that storm, houses are no longer constructed along the floodplain. This creek and its tributaries are administered by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

Most land in Mississauga drains to either of the two main river systems, with the exception of the smaller Mary Fix Creek which runs roughly through the center of Mississauga entering the lake just east of Port Credit. Some small streams and resevoirs are part of the Sixteen Mile Creek system in the far north-west corner of the city.

The post-glacial Iroquois Shoreline roughly follows the Dundas Street alignment, although it is not noticeable in some places and in others the shoreline rises as a sharp hill affording a view of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario. The land in Mississauga in general slopes gradually downward from almost 190 metres (623 ft) ASL in some northern spots to lake level (76 m/249 ft ASL), a 110 metre (361 ft) difference over an averaged 15 kilometres (9 mi) distance.

Economy

Mississauga is home to more than 18,000 companies ranging from corporate head offices and industrial branch operations to corner store retail businesses, and including 50 of Canada's Fortune 500. Approximately half or 9,000 of theses businesses are in the manufacturing, product distribution or corporate sectors owing to its desirable location witin Ontario.

Mississauga has provided an ideal environment for small businesses. Many developers have built small multiple units which provide efficient and affordable accommodations for small companies. The economic stability of Mississauga is enhanced by thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. A large percentage of these employers have fewer than 50 employees.

An employment survey conducted in 1994 indicated that the greatest number of firms and of employees were active in the manufacturing/warehouse sectors followed by retail and wholesale sectors. There will be a shift in the employment base away from traditional manufacturing and towards: light assembly, warehouse distribution, and general services. The strong industries in Mississauga are: pharmaceuticals, electronics, computer, chemical and transportation parts and equipment industries. Heavy industry includes the Petro-Canada refinery and St. Lawrence Cement.

Mississauga demographics indicate that the labour market is experiencing some fairly dramatic changes. It is predicted that in the next ten years, 70% of the new Canadian work force will consist of women, racial minorities, and people with disabilities. It is also evident that the Mississauga labour force is aging as fewer young people are available to take entry level jobs and many present employees are struggling to adapt to the changing economic climate.

Primary employers

AECL (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited) Air Canada Bell Mobility Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Canada Post (Gateway Postal Facility) Cara Operations CIBC City of Mississauga Compaq Credit Valley Hospital Desjardins Financial Services Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Federal Express Canada Ltd. GE Canada GlaxoSmithKline Hershey's Canada Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd. Honeywell Loblaws Companies East

Microsoft (Canada) Corporation Ministry of Transportation (Ontario) Novotel Oracle Canada Peel District School Board Petro-Canada Pepsico Canada Ltd. Purolator Courier Research In Motion Ltd. RBC Financial Siemens AG TD Bank Financial Group Texaco (oils and additives) Trillium Health Group Wal-Mart Stores Ltd. Xerox Corporation

Demographics

Ethnic Origin[1]	Population	Percent
Canadian	105,215	17.22%
English	89,980	14.73%
East Indian	68,890	11.27%
Scottish	59,305	9.70%
Irish	56,345	9.22%
Italian	48,035	7.86%
Polish	42,005	6.87%
Black	37,850	6.19%
Chinese	35,955	5.88%
Portuguese	31,795	5.20%

Mississauga is a quickly growing and multicultural city. Statcan estimates that Mississauga now has 678,000 people, an increase of 150,000 from the previous decade. Slightly more than 45% of the populaiton speaks a language other than English (see list below; languages spoken by more than 10,000 members), reflecting a major large immigrant population. Some 46.7% of the population was not born in Canada. Around 40.32% of the population are members of a visible minority (non-European/white). Mississauga also has a very young age profile as 21.28% of the population is under 14 years of age, compared to those of retirement age; 8.50%, resulting in an average age of 35 years.[2]

Despite the vast plethora of cultures, Mississauga retains a Christian majority. The 2001 census indicates that 70.02% of the population adhere to Christianity, Roman Catholics constituting 42.1% (similar to national average), while the remaining 27.9% adhere to various Protestant, and Orthodox Christian groups. Due to the large population of South Asians, many religions from the Indian subcontinent are large; Muslim: 6.85%, Hindu: 4.77%, Sikh: 3.83%. Other religions include Buddhism, Judaism and others. Those non-professing a faith number 11.96%[3]

First Language

From Statistics Canada 2001 Census Data:

English: 54.28% Polish: 5.18% Punjabi: 3.49% Portuguese: 3.33% Italian: 3.19% Tagalog: 2.79% Sports and recreation Mississauga's sports teams include: Mississauga Ramblers of the Toronto and district cricket league Mississauga Warriors of the Ontario Varsity Football League Mississauga IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League Mississauga Titans of the Etobicoke District Cricket League Mississauga Demons of the Ontario Australian Football League Mississauga Rattlers of the Great Lakes Inline Junior "A" Roller Hockey League Mississauga Aeros of the NWHL Mississauga Hockey League Mississauga Girls Hockey League The Mississauga Figure Skating Club The North Mississauga Soccer Club NMSC Don Rowing Club Mississauga's rugby players are served by the Oakville Crusaders and Brampton Beavers. Media The Mississauga News is the city's primary English newspaper and is published three times a week. The following cable television stations broadcast from Mississauga. For more area stations, visit Toronto television stations. Rogers Television, community channel The Shopping Channel, broadcasts nationally from Mississauga The Weather Network, broadcast nationally from Mississauga 1988-2005 Bite TV, Canada's first interactive television station Attractions In 2006 the city (with the help of Projects for public spaces [4]) made a slogan "My Mississauga; Celebrate summer at city centre" for the summer festivities planned [5]. Mississauga planned over 60 free events to bring more people to the city square. The square was transformed and now includes a movable stage, a restaurant that sell snacks, extra seating, sporting equipment(basketball nets, hockey area, chess and checker boards, and a skateboarding area). Some of the events included Senior's day on Tuesday, Family day on Wednesday, Vintage car Thursdays, and the main events being the Canada day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, and Beachfest. Shopping Square One Shopping Centre Erin Mills Town Centre Dixie Outlet Mall Central Parkway Mall Rockwood Mall Heartland outlets South Common Mall Meadowvale Town Centre Sheridan Centre Port Credit, "Mississauga's Village on the Lake" Streetsville, "Mississauga's Village in the City" Cultural 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 Mississauga Arts Council's Calendar of Arts and Entertainment Listings in Mississauga [6] Opera Mississauga Historical attractions Adamson Estate Benares House Bradley Museum Cawthra Estate Old Meadowvale Village Outdoor attractions There are over 481 parks and woodlands areas in Mississauga, including: Applewood Trail Burnhamthorpe Trail Cooksville Creek Trail Culham Trail Erindale Park Credit River Etobicoke Creek Trail Indian Road Trail Lake Wabukayne Trail Levi Creek Trail Ligar Meadow Brook Trail Malton Loop Milgrove Trail Mississauga Meadow Trail Mississauga Valley Trail Oakridge Trail Rattray Marsh Conservation Area (Mississauga) Sawmill Valley Trail Sheridan Creek Trail Waterfront Trail Winston Churchill Trail Sporting venues The Hershey Centre, the city's major sporting centre Transportation Major highways Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connecting Windsor to Quebec), Highway 403 (to Hamilton via the QEW in Oakville/Burlington), Highway 407 (toll route across the north end of the city), Highway 409 (providing access directly into Pearson Airport terminals from Toronto), Highway 410 (to Brampton), Queen Elizabeth Way (to Niagara Falls and Buffalo), and Highway 427, straddling the Toronto-Mississauga Boundary, with access into Toronto Pearson International Airport. Rail Mississauga is on three major railway lines (two owned by Canadian National Railway and one owned by Canadian Pacific Railway), which lead into and around Toronto. The GO Transit commuter rail service provides service into Toronto's Union Station along the Lakeshore West (GO Transit), Georgetown (GO Transit), and Milton (GO Transit) lines. VIA Rail service in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor is provided on both CN lines, although there are no stops in Mississauga. Bus The Greater Toronto Area's GO Transit service also provides an extensive intercity bus service, which connects Mississauga to downtown Toronto and neighbouring suburban hubs including academic institutions as McMaster University (in Hamilton), Sheridan College in Oakville, York University, Seneca College, Centennial College, University of Toronto at Scarborough all within Toronto, and Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. The city's Mississauga Transit service provides relatively frequent bus service across the city, and connects to the Toronto Transit Commission's subway and GO Transit (a busway similar to Ottawa's Transitway is being built). There are also connections to Oakville Transit, and Brampton Transit, with routes going beyond these borders. There are also plans for the construction of an LRT (similar to Calgary) along Hurontario Street ("Highway 10," the city's main street), and possibly on some other main thoroughfares with heavy volume but no definite dates have been set. Air Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in northeastern Mississauga (Malton) is a hub for Air Canada and provides flights to all regional, national, and international destinations. Public services Education Mississauga is the home to the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM/Erindale College), one of three intercity campuses of the University of Toronto. UTM has an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. It is growing rapidly, at a rate of about 1,000 students per year since 2002. Mississauga is served by the Peel District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Mississauga also has a prominent 'arts education programme' which is served by Queen Elizabeth Senior Public School and Cawthra Park Secondary School. Hospitals Trillium Health Centre (formerly Mississauga Hospital) Credit Valley Hospital Library Mississauga Library System Police Peel Regional Police Ontario Provincial Police - Port Credit Detachment Fire Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services Notable people from or residing in Mississauga Natalie Appleton, musician, member of All Saints Al Balding, (1924-2006) Pro golfer Billy Talent, rock band Johnny Bower, former goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hockey Hall of Fame member Brad Boyes, NHL hockey player Mike Bullard, comedian Deanna Casaluce, television actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation) Don Cherry, former NHL coach, commentator on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada Paul Coffey, NHL hockey player Rik Emmett, musician, founding member of Triumph Ron Fellows, race car driver J.D. Fortune, current lead singer of INXS Rick Green, comedian and writer (The Red Green Show, History Bites) Joel Gibb, singer-songwriter (The Hidden Cameras) Paul Henderson, NHL hockey player and scorer of the series-winning goal in the 1972 Hockey Summit Series Allison Higson, Olympic swimmer Jane Kerr, Olympic swimmer Silken Laumann, former rower of the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games Manny Malhotra, NHL hockey player Grant Marshall, NHL hockey player Suzie McNeil, contestant on Rock Star: INXS The Meligrove Band, rock band Kevin Newman, anchor of Global National Ryan O'Marra, world junior hockey player Carolyn Parrish, former MP, Mississauga—Erindale Oscar Peterson, world-famous jazz pianist and composer Cheryl Pounder, Olympic hockey player Tomasz Radzinski, soccer player for Fulham F.C. and Canada John Roberts, CNN television journalist Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, the Last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia lived in Cooksville in the 1950s. Adamo Ruggiero, television actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation) Robert J. Sawyer, science fiction writer Jason Spezza, NHL hockey player (Ottawa Senators) Matt Stajan, NHL hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs) Daria Werbowy, international supermodel Ted Woloshyn, Radio personality. Wojtek Wolski, NHL hockey player (Colorado Avalanche) Anthony Cosmo, NLL and WLA lacrosse player ill Scarlett, ska/punk band See also Hazel McCallion Mississauga Civic Centre Square One Shopping Centre The Mississauga Blob Absolute city centre References External links City of Mississauga - Official Site Mississauga community information and apartments for rent Mississauga News Mississauga Cycling Trail Map Mississauga Arts Council Emporis Listing of Mississauga's Buildings Mississauga Library System portcredit.ca - Port Credit's Online Community and Mississauga's Web Site on the Lake 43°36′N 79°39′W