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Mississauga, Ontario: Encyclopedia BETA Free Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia Contents History Law/Government Geography Economy Demographics Sports and recreation Media Attractions Transportation Public services Notable people from or residing in Mississauga See also References External links Browse A-Z ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZNum License Disclaimer         Free Online Courses • 12 Weeks to Weight Loss • Take Charge of Stress • Learn How to Bake • Budgeting 101 • Deeper Faith • DIY Fashion Makeover        MORE E-COURSES		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z  Misc Mississauga, Ontario Header Format=Custom Flag and Coat of Arms Flag Image=Mississauga logo 3.png Coat Image=mississaugacoa.gif Motto=Pride in our past, Faith in our future Established=1974 Latitude Longitude= d1=43|m1=36|d2=79|m2=39|EP=(612,925)_scale:200000 Location Image=Location of Mississauga.PNG Elevation=173m (Pearson Airport) Time zone=EST Postal Code=L4T, L4V, L4W, L4X, L4Y, L4Z, L5A, L5B, L5C, L5E, L5G, L5H, L5J, L5K, L5L, L5M, L5N, L5P, L5R, L5S, L5T, L5V, L5W Area Code=905, 289 Highways=401, 403, QEW, 407, 410, 427, 409 Population description= - Total (2001 Census)  - Cdn. Mun. Rank: Population=612,925 (est. 700,000 in 2006) Ranked 7th in 2001 (now ranked 6th) Population Density=2125.1 Area=288.42 City Mayor=Hazel McCallion Governing Body=Mississauga City Council MPs=Navdeep Singh Bains, Albina Guarnieri, Wajid Khan, Omar Alghabra, Paul Szabo MLAs=Bob Delaney, Vic Dhillon, Peter Fonseca, Tim Peterson, Harinder Takhar website=City of Mississauga Census Year=2001 Extra references=None }Mississauga (IPA: ) is Canada's sixth-largest city, located in the Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario, west of Toronto. A part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the largest lower-tier municipality in Ontario, and is also the largest 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. 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 size 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 four year period. Mississauga's skyline is made up of high rise condominiums Despite its size, Mississauga is thought of by some as a suburb of Toronto and 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 three days a week), and currently doesn't have any television stations or 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. Despite this, Mississauga is virtually unknown outside of Ontario. Mississauga has been trying to create a distinctive image for itself over the past few years. Plans for up to 40 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. The winning design, 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. History 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 km² (84,000 acres) of the Mississauga Tract and in 1806 the area was opened for settlement. The various communities settled include: Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale (called Springfield until 1890), Port Credit, Sheridan, and Summerville. This region would become known as the 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. On November 10, 1979, a 106 car freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals was derailed at 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. These former villages, some incorporated for a long time retain strong community identities. Law/Government Mississauga City Hall seen from the west side of the library square 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 most recently re-elected for her tenth term in November 2003. She will be running for re-election for this year's election. 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 nine city councillors, each representing one of the city's nine (soon to be eleven) wards. Mayors
Martin L. Dobkin	1974 - 1976
Ron A. Searle	1976 - 1978
Hazel McCallion	1978 - Present

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