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Mississauga

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Mississauga (2002 population 624,000) is a city in Peel Regional Municipality, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A part of the Greater Toronto Area, Mississauga is Canada's sixth largest city. It was settled in 1805 and incorporated as a city in 1974. Mississauga is twinned with Kariya, Japan.

With five major highways passing through the City, Mississauga offers fast and convenient access to major destinations in Canada and the United States. 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.

Despite (or, perhaps, in spite of) its size, Mississauga is a suburb of Toronto. As Toronto continued to grow economically, Mississauga followed suit, building predominately low-density tract housing to attract individuals who were 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 fashionable to locate there.

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 this Ojibway tribe had driven away the Iroquois.

In 1805, government officials from York, as Toronto was then called, bought 33,995 hectares (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, Port Credit, Sheridan, and Summerville. This region would become known as the Toronto Township.

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.

With the exception of Port Credit and Streetsville, all of these settlements joined together in 1968 to form the Town of Mississauga. In 1974, Mississauga incorporated as a City, this time including Port Credit and Streetsville.

For a more detailed history, see the entry for Toronto Township, Ontario.

Major Historical Events

  • November 10, 1979: a 106 car freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals was derailed at the intersection of Mavis Road in Mississauga. This necessitated the evacuation of homes and businesses in the affected area.

Law/Government

Mississauga's mayor since 1978 has been Hazel McCallion, regarded as a force in provincial politics and often referred to as Hurricane Hazel. Originally, McCallion was mayor of Streetsville, Ontario, and later became mayor of Mississauga, when the city was incorporated in 1974. Hazel McCallion is, arguably, one of the nation's longest serving mayors.

Mississauga's City Council comprises the mayor and nine City Councillors, each representing one of the city's nine wards.

Geography

Mississauga is bounded by Oakville, Ontario and Milton, Ontario to the west, Brampton, Ontario to the north, Toronto to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south. Halton Hills, Ontario borders Mississauga's north-west corner. The city is located at 43° 35' N, 79° 37' W.

Economy

Mississauga is home to more than 18,000 companies ranging from corporate head offices and industrial branch operations to corner store retail businesses. The Mississauga business community is facing certain issues at this time. With international competition, political and economic changes and rapidly advancing technology, companies require more adaptable and more highly skilled workers. Employers recognize the need to retrain the existing labour force and incorporate those who would like to work but have been limited so far due to low skill levels and other barriers.

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.

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 ageing 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

Demographics

In 2002, Mississauga had a population of 624,000, up almost 100,000 from 1995. With just over 40% of the city's population having a language other than English as their mother tongue, the city is relatively diverse, which is, perhaps, owing to its proximity to Toronto. More than 30% of Mississauga's population speak more than one language.

First Language

From Statistics Canada 1996 Census Data:

  • 59% English
  • 4.4% Chinese
  • 4.2% Polish
  • 3.6% Italian
  • 3.6% Punjabi
  • 3.2% Portuguese
  • 1.9% Tagalog (Filipino)
  • 1.7% Spanish
  • 1.4% Arabic
  • 1.3% Croatian
  • 1.3% French
  • 1% Urdu
  • 10.6% Other
  • 36.9% Multiple language responses

Universities/Colleges

Mississauga is the home to the University of Toronto at Mississauga (Erindale College), one of three intercity campuses of the University of Toronto. UTM is a mid-size school on a very modern and park-like campus, with an enrollment of approximately 6,000 students.

Neighbouring Colleges

Hospitals

Sports Teams

Media

Newspapers

Television

The following stations broadcast directly out of Mississauga. For more area stations, visit Toronto television stations.

Notable Mississaugans

Arts and Culture

Transportation

See also

North: Halton Hills, Brampton
West: Milton, Oakville Mississauga East: Toronto
South: Lake Ontario
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