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Mississauga, Ontario
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HistoryAt 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 the Georgian Bay area. By 1700 the Mississaugas had driven away the Iroquois.
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 and in 1806 the area was opened for settlement. Toronto township is not to be confused with the present-day City of Toronto, as no part of the former township boundaries overlap with the Toronto of today. The various communities settled include: Lakeview, Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale (called Springfield until 1890), Lorne Park, Port Credit, Sheridan, Streetsville, Meadowvale and Summerville. This region would become known as Toronto Township. Part of northeast Mississauga, including the Airport lands and Malton were part of Gore Township.
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 thirteen colonies during and after the American Revolution, some first went to New Brunswick before arriving in Mississauga.
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 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. In 1873, in light of the continued growth seen in this area much as a result of the many railway lines passing through the township which spurred on industry, 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.
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 1920s 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 from Highway 27 to Highway 10 , Port Credit, in 1935 and later Hamilton and 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 of Lakeview, Cooksville, Lorne Park, Clarkson, Erindale, Sheridan, Dixie, Meadowvale Village, and Malton were amalgamated by a somewhat unpopular provincial decree in 1968 to form the Town of Mississauga. The town name was chosen by plebiscite 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 modelled 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.
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 winning 91% of the votes. McCallion is the nation's longest serving mayor and was runner-up in World Mayor 2005.
In 2006, an international architectural design competition was held for a 50 storey condominium tower that is intended to be a recognizable 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.
GeographyMississauga covers 288.42 square kilometres (111.4 sq mi) of land, fronting 13 kilometres (8 mi) of shoreline on Lake Ontario.
Mississauga is bounded by Oakville and Milton to the west/southwest, Brampton to the north, Toronto to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south/soouth-east. Halton Hills borders Mississauga's north-west corner. With the exception of the southeast 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 Mississauga with the city of Toronto. North of there it passes through the western limits of Pearson Airport. There have been two aviation accidents, in 1978 and 2005 where aircraft overshot the runaway and slid into the Etobicoke creek banks. In 1954, 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 this 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 and Cooksville Creeks which run roughly through the center of Mississauga entering the lake near Port Credit. Some small streams and reservoirs are part of the Sixteen Mile Creek system in the far north-west corner of the city, but these drain toward the lake in neighbouring Milton and Oakville.
The post-glacial Iroquois Shoreline roughly follows the Dundas Street alignment, although it is not noticeable in some places but is more prominent in others, such as the site of the old brickyard (Shoreline Dr. in Cooksville), the ancient shoreline drops below affording a clear view of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario from above on clear days. 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.
Other than river valleys, the only noticable hills in Mississauga are actually part of the former Brittinnia Landfill near Streetsvile
ClimateThe climate of Mississauga is represented by an adjacent northwest Toronto weather station; Pearson International Airport. Localized conditions can vary; fog tends to be more common along the lakeshore and in the Credit River Valley at certain times of year, particularly the fall. The southwestern side of the city (Clarkson) can be much milder in winter than northern areas including the airport, while lakeshore areas particularly from Port Credit east through Lakeview are sometimes cooler on hot summer days and noticeably cooler on sunny spring days. During snowfalls when temperatures hover close to freezing, northern parts of the city, such as around Derry Road away from warmer Lake Ontario, tend to get more snow than the southern parts, the reverse is true when a strong storm approaches from the south with temperatures below freezing. Such winter storms that come from the US Midwest often bring a volatile mix of snow with sleet and sometimes freezing rain. Summer thunderstorms are common, most are not severe but can occasionally bring violent winds. They usually develop in the US Midwest (Michigan , Wisconsin) and travel along the 401 corridor, and typically weaken upon entering Mississauga, with some exceptions. The last known tornado to cause significant damage touchdowned on July 7, 1985 when an F1 rated tornado struck an industrial park in the Meadowvale area, heavily damaging some buildings and some parked tractor trailers. A relatively strong tornado tore a path across Mississauga (then part of Toronto Township) on June 24, 1923 cutting a swath from present-day Meadowvale to near Cooksville, killing 4 people and causing massive property damage in a time when most of Mississauga was rural farmland.
AttractionsIn 2006, with the help of Project for Public Spaces, the city made a slogan "My Mississauga; Celebrate summer at city centre" for the summer festivities planned. 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 snack bar, extra seating, and sports and gaming facilities (basketball nets, hockey arena, chess and checker boards) including a skate park. Some of the events included Senior's day on Tuesday, Family day on Wednesday, Vintage car Thursdays, with the main events being the Canada Day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, and Beachfest. Mississauga also boasts one of the largest shopping malls in Canada called Square One Shopping Centre, which is surrounded by many bars and restaurants, as well as City Hall, the Central Library, and Playdium.
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
- Opera Mississauga
- Heritage Mississauga
- Portuguese Cultural Centre of Mississauga
- Renaissance Catering & Convention Centre
Historical attractions- Adamson Estate
- Benares Historic House
- Bradley Museum
- Cawthra Estate
- Old Meadowvale Village
Sports and recreationMississauga has been the home of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League since 2007, when the team moved from Toronto. It was previously home to the Mississauga Icedogs from 1999-2007, before they moved to St. Catharines and became the Niagara IceDogs. The Hershey Centre, the city's main sports venue, was opened in 1999 for the arrival of the Icedogs, and is where the St. Michael's Majors currently play. Other hockey teams include the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (who play at Iceland Mississauga), and the many teams in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, Mississauga Hockey League, and Mississauga Girls Hockey League that play in the city's 13 arenas. In addition, there is a roller hockey team, the Mississauga Rattlers of the Great Lakes Inline Junior "A" Roller Hockey League.
The city also has teams for box lacrosse, cricket (Mississauga Ramblers of the Toronto and District Cricket League, Mississauga Titans of the Etobicoke District Cricket League), Canadian football (Mississauga Warriors of the Ontario Varsity Football League), and Australian football. Mississauga's rugby players are served by the Oakville Crusaders and Brampton Beavers.
Recreational clubs include the Mississauga Figure Skating Club, Mississauga Synchronized Swimming Association, North Mississauga Soccer Club, Mississauga Canoe Club, Don Rowing Club at Port Credit, and the Mississauga Aquatic Club. There are over 481 parks and woodlands areas in Mississauga.
MediaMississauga is primarily served by media based in Toronto with markets in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that cover most of the news in the GTA. However, Mississauga also has The Mississauga News, a regional newspaper that is published three days a week in print, and daily online. The city also has two specialty radio stations: AM 1320 CJMR, a multilingual station, and FM 91.9 CFRE, the campus radio station of the University of Toronto at Mississauga.
The following national cable television stations also broadcast from Mississauga. For more area stations, visit Toronto television stations.
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 these businesses are in the manufacturing, product distribution or corporate sectors due to Mississauga's desirable location in southern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe and Greater Toronto Area.
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
DemographicsMississauga is a quickly growing and multicultural city. Statistics Canada estimates that Mississauga now has 704,000 people, an increase of 150,000 from the previous decade and the population has roughly doubled in past twenty years. The city has one of the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Ontario and Canada. According to the 2006 census, the racial makeup of the city is as follows:
| Group | Population | Percentage |
|---|
| White | 336,755 | 50.6 | | South Asian | 134,750 | 20.2 | | Chinese | 46,120 | 6.9 | | Black | 41,365 | 6.2 | | Filipino | 30,705 | 4.6 | | Arab | 16,785 | 2.5 | | Southeast Asian | 14,160 | 2.1 | | Latin American | 12,410 | 1.9 | | Multiple Visible Minority | 9,100 | 1.4 | | Korean | 6,865 | 1.0 | | West Asian | 6,015 | 0.9 | | Other Visible Minority | 5,715 | 0.9 | | Aboriginal | 2,475 | 0.4 | | Japanese | 2,425 | 0.4 | |
Slightly less than 45% of the population speaks a language other than English, reflecting a large immigrant population. 46.61% of the population was not born in Canada. 40.20% of the population are members of a visible minority (non-white). 21.29% of the population is under 14 years of age, compared to those of retirement age; 8.51%. The median (middle) age in Mississauga is 35.0.
Despite the plethora of cultures, Mississauga retains a Christian majority. The 2001 census indicates that 69.78% of the population adhere to Christianity, Catholics constituting 42.00%, while the remaining 27.78% adhere to various Protestant, and Orthodox Christian groups. The 2001 census indicates that there are Muslim: 6.83%, Hindu: 4.73%, Sikh: 3.82%, Buddhism, Judaism and others. Those non-professing a faith number 11.92%.
LanguagesMississauga is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in Canada. The 2006 census found that English was spoken as mother tongue by 49.3% of the population. The next most common languages were the Chinese languages (5.5%), Urdu (4.6%), Polish (4.4%), Punjabi (3.6%), Portuguese (2.8%), Tagalog (2.7%), Arabic (2.6%), Italian (2.5%) and Spanish (2.1%).
| Mother tongue | Population | Percentage |
|---|
| English | 328,295 | 49.32% | | French | 7,835 | 1.18% | | English and French | 1,020 | 0.15% | | English and a non-official language | 15,210 | 2.28%% | | French and a non-official language | 880 | 0.13% | | English, French and a non-official language | 320 | 0.05% | | Chinese languages | 36,445 | 5.48% | | Urdu | 30,725 | 4.62% | | Polish | 29,020 | 4.36% | | Punjabi | 24,145 | 3.63% | | Portuguese | 18,745 | 2.82% | | Tagalog | 17,890 | 2.69% | | Arabic | 17,290 | 2.60% | | Italian | 16,580 | 2.49% | | Spanish | 14,145 | 2.12% | | Vietnamese | 10,380 | 1.56% | | Tamil | 10,025 | 1.51% | | Hindi | 8,425 | 1.27% | | Gujarati | 7,620 | 1.14% | | Croatian | 6,310 | 0.95% | |
| Mother tongue | Population | Percentage |
|---|
| Ukrainian | 5,785 | 0.87% | | Korean | 5,775 | 0.87% | | Persian | 4,640 | 0.70% | | German | 4,485 | 0.67% | | Russian | 3,540 | 0.53% | | Serbian | 3,280 | 0.49% | | Bengali | 3,150 | 0.47% | | Greek | 2,815 | 0.42% | | Romanian | 2,320 | 0.35% | | Malayalam | 1,700 | 0.26% | | Hungarian | 1,630 | 0.24% | | Bosnian | 1,365 | 0.21% | | Slovenian | 1,255 | 0.19% | | Telugu | 1,160 | 0.17% | | Macedonian | 1,145 | 0.17% | | Japanese | 1,095 | 0.16% | | Akan (Twi) | 1,085 | 0.16% | | Malay | 1,075 | 0.16% | | Maltese | 1,070 | 0.16% | | Dutch | 1,060 | 0.16% | |
Law and GovernmentMississauga City Council is comprised of the mayor and 11 city councillors, each representing one of the city's eleven wards. Peel Regional Police provide policing within the city of Mississauga. In addition, the Ontario Provincial Police have a Port Credit detachment in the city. Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services and Peel Regional Paramedic Services provide fire fighting and emergency services.
The Mississauga Library System is a municipally owned network of 18 libraries.
Electoral districts
EducationMississauga 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. Together there are more than 150 schools in this city to fulfill the needs of its large youth population.
Mississauga also has many prominent programs which push students to show their full potential including:
HealthThe city's two main hospitals are Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre (formerly Mississauga Hospital).
Transportation
HighwaysMississauga has the highest concentration of highways of any city in Canada. Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connecting Windsor to Quebec) passes through the city's north end. The eastern part uses the collector/express lane system and feeds into Highway 403, the main highway in the city, which runs through the City Centre and Erin Mills areas. The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), the city's first highway, runs through the southern half of the city. These three highways each run east-west, with the exception of the 403 from the 401 to Cawthra Road, and the 407 to QEW. North of 401, the collector lanes of the 403 become Highway 410, which goes to Brampton. Part of Highway 409 is within the city of Mississauga, and it provides access to Pearson Airport. Two other highways are usually considered part of the network even though they are not within the city itself. Highway 407, though never entering Mississauga, runs just metres from the north and northwestern city limits. Highway 427 forms the Toronto-Mississauga boundary in the northeast, and is always within 2 kilometres of the boundary further south, with the exception of the area around Centennial Park.
RailMississauga 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, Georgetown, and Milton lines. VIA Rail service in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor is provided on both CN lines, although there are no stops in Mississauga.
BusThe city's public transit service, Mississauga Transit, provides relatively frequent bus service across the city, and connects to the Toronto Transit Commission's subway, GO Transit (which provides an extensive intercity bus service), Oakville Transit, and Brampton Transit. A busway similar to Ottawa's transitway is being built. There are also plans for the construction of an LRT along Hurontario Street, and possibly on some other main thoroughfares, namely Dundas Street, but no definite dates have been set.
AirToronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in northeastern Mississauga is a hub for Air Canada and provides flights to regional, national, and international destinations.
Sister cities Kariya, Aichi, Japan
Notable people
From Mississauga | |
