This article is about the city in Ontario, Canada. For the indigenous people, seeMississaugas. For the First Nation, seeMississauga First Nation. For the rattlesnake species, seeMassasauga.
The growth of Mississauga was initially attributed to its proximity toToronto.[5] However, during the latter half of the 20th century, the city attracted a diverse and multicultural population. Over time, it built up a thriving,transit-orientedcentral business district of its own; theMississauga City Centre.[6][7]Malton, a neighbourhood of the city located in its northeast end, is home toToronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's busiest airport, as well asthe headquarters of many Canadian and multinational corporations. Mississauga is not a traditional city, but is instead anamalgamation of three former villages, two townships, and a number of rural hamlets (a general pattern common to several suburban GTA cities) that were significant population centres, with none being clearly dominant, prior to the city's incorporation that later coalesced into a single urban area.[8]
Indigenous people have lived in the area for thousands of years and Mississauga is situated on the traditional territory of theWendat,Haudenosaunee andAnishinaabeg people, including the namesakeMississaugas.[9] Most of present-day Mississauga was founded in 1805 asToronto Township[10] withinYork County, and became part ofPeel County when new counties were formed by splitting off parts of the original county in 1851. Mississauga itself was established in 1968 as a town, and was reincorporated as a city in 1974, when Peel was restructured into aregional municipality.[11]
A single site in Mississauga with Hi-Lo projectile points[13] was registered in theOntario Ministry of Culture database of archaeological sites.[14] Lake Ontario was much smaller at this time, and sites from this period may be 500 m into the lake.[14]
According to Smith,[14] there was a growing population at this time. There are 23 known Archaic sites in Mississauga, mostly in theCredit River andCooksville Creek drainage systems. People would congregate at rapids and the mouths of these rivers to catch fish during spawning runs. They would harvest nuts and wild rice at the wetland margins in the late summer. During late Archaic times, there were large cemeteries.[14]
"The accelerating upward population increase continued,"[14]: 62 with 23 known sites from this period. Pottery first appears during this period in the style of thePoint Peninsula complex, and near the end of the Woodland period, the first semi-permanent villages appear. Artifacts show that these people engaged in long-distance trade, likely as part of theHopewell tradition.[14]
In the late Woodland period (500–1650 CE), "the band level of social organization that characterized earlier cultures gave way eventually to the tribal level of the OntarioIroquoian Tradition,"[14]: 67 and people began cultivation of crops such asmaize, beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco. This led to the development of theWyandot or Huron,Iroquoian-speaking culture. The Lightfoot site with four to sixlonghouses was located on the Credit River near Mississauga's border with Brampton. Another village with many longhouses was on the Antrex site, located on a wide ridge bounded by two small tributaries of Cooksville Creek.[14]
Arrival of the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, and the Europeans
Around the end of the Woodland period, the Haudenosaunee, another Iroquoian confederacy, began to move into the area, and, as part of a long conflict known as theBeaver wars, they had dispersed the Wyandot by 1650.[15][16] But by 1687, the Haudenosaunee had abandoned their new settlements along the north shore of Lake Ontario.[17]: 65
TheAlgonquian-speakingAnishinaabeOjibwe people had been aligned with the Wyandot, and when they were dispersed, the Anishinaabe expanded eastward into theCredit River Valley area, clashing with the Haudenosaunee and eventually taking over when the Haudenosaunee retreated.[17] The European traders would gather annually at the mouth of what is now known as the Credit River to give the Anishinaabe credit for the following year. "From this, theMississauga bands at the western end of the lake became known collectively as the Credit River Mississaugas."[15]: 108
Toronto Township, consisting of most of present-day Mississauga, was formed on 2 August 1805[citation needed] when officials from York (what is now the City of Toronto) purchased 85,000 acres (340 km2) of land from theMississaugas under Treaty 14.[9] A second treaty was signed in 1818 that surrendered 2,622 km2 of Mississauga land to theBritish Crown. In total Mississauga is covered by four treaties: Treaty 14, Treaty 19, Treaty 22 and Treaty 23.[9]
Mississauga's original villages (and some later incorporated towns) settled includedClarkson,Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale (called Springfield until 1890),Lakeview,Lorne Park,Port Credit, Sheridan, and Summerville. The region became known as Toronto Township. Part of northeast Mississauga, including the Airport lands andMalton were a part ofToronto Gore Township.[18]
After the land was surveyed, the Crown gave much of it in the form of land grants toUnited Empire Loyalists who emigrated from theThirteen Colonies during and after theAmerican Revolution, as well as loyalists from New Brunswick. A group of settlers fromNew York State arrived in the 1830s. The government wanted to compensate the Loyalists for property lost in the colonies and encourage development of what was considered frontier. In 1820, the government purchased additional land from the Mississaugas. Additional settlements were established, including: Barbertown, Britannia, Burnhamthorpe,Churchville, Derry West,Elmbank, Malton,Meadowvale (Village), Mount Charles, andStreetsville. European-Canadian settlement led to the eventual displacement of the Mississaugas. In 1847, the government relocated them toa reserve in theGrand River Valley, near present-dayHagersville.[19][20] Pre-confederation, the Township of Toronto was formed as a local government; settlements within were not legal villages until much later.[21][22]
Except for small villages and somegristmills andbrickworks served by railway lines, most of present-day Mississauga was agricultural land, including fruit orchards, through much of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. In the 1920s, cottages were constructed along the shores ofLake Ontario as weekend getaway homes for Torontonians.[21]
In 1937, 1,410.8 acres of land was sold to buildMalton Airport (which later became Pearson Airport). It became Canada's busiest airport which later put the end to the community of Elmbank.[23]
The first prototypical suburban growth of Toronto Township began afterWorld War II,[24]Applewood Acres was the first major planned development near the QEW andDixie Road,[25] and urbanization soon rapidly expanded north and west. In 1952, Toronto Township annexed the southern portion of Toronto Gore Township.[26] Two largenew towns;Erin Mills and (New)Meadowvale, were started in 1968 and 1969, respectively. Most of Mississauga was built out by 2005.[27]
The areas amalgamated to create the present city: The Town of Mississauga(red), was created out of Toronto Township, which in 1952 annexed a portion of Toronto Gore Township(right of dashed white line). In 1968 (the year of its incorporation), the police village of Malton(white outline) was absorbed into it. The town became a city in 1974, and absorbed Port Credit, Streetsville, and a portion of Oakville(beige), but ceded the northern extremity(separated section of red at top) to Brampton. A final annexation occurred in 2010, when a thin strip of land was purchased from Milton(blue) to bring the city limits to Highway 407.
While the Township had many settlements within it, none of them (save for the largerenclave communities of Port Credit and Streetsville) were incorporated, and all residents were represented by a singular Township council (Malton had special status as apolice village, allowing it partial autonomy). To reflect the community's shift away from rural to urban, council desired conversion into a town, and in 1965 a call for public input on naming it received thousands of letters offering hundreds of different suggestions.[28] "Mississauga" was chosen by plebiscite over "Sheridan" by a vote of 11,796 to 4,331,[29] and in 1968 the reincorporation went forward, absorbing Malton in the process. Port Credit and Streetsville remained separate, uninterested in ceding their autonomy or being taxed to the needs of a growing municipality. Political will, as well as a belief that a larger city would be a hegemony in Peel County, kept them as independent enclaves within the Town of Mississauga, but both were amalgamated into Mississauga when it reincorporated as a city in 1974. At this time, Mississauga annexed lands west ofWinston Churchill Boulevard fromOakville in the northwest,[b][30] in exchange for lands in the northernmost extremity (which included Churchville) south ofSteeles Avenue which were transferred toBrampton.[31] That year,Square One Shopping Centre opened; it has since expanded several times.[32]
On 10 November 1979,a 106-car freight train derailed on the CP rail line while carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals just north of the intersection of Mavis Road andDundas Street. One of the tank cars carryingpropane exploded, and 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.[33] Residents were allowed to return home once the site was deemed safe. At the time, it was the largest peacetime evacuation in North American history. Due to the speed and efficiency with 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, for Canadians, associated with a major rail disaster.[34]
North American telephone customers placing calls to Mississauga (and other post-1970 Ontario cities) may not recognise the charge details on their bills. The area'sincumbent local exchange carrier,Bell Canada, continues to split the city into five historical rate centres–Clarkson, Cooksville, Malton, Port Credit, and Streetsville. However, they are combined as a single Mississauga listing in the phone book. The firstTouch-Tone telephones in Canada were introduced in Malton on 15 June 1964.[35]
On 1 January 2010, Mississauga bought land from the Town ofMilton and expanded its border by 400 acres (1.6 km2), to Highway 407, affecting 25 residents.[36] Also in January 2010, the Mississaugas and the federal government settled a land claim, in which the band of indigenous people received $145,000,000, as just compensation for their land and lost income.[37]
TheCredit RiverThe Skyline of Mississauga, seen from Hurontario Street @ Highway 403.
Mississauga covers 288.42 square kilometres (111.36 sq mi) of land,[38] fronting 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of shoreline onLake Ontario.
Mississauga is bounded byOakville andMilton to the west/southwest,Brampton to the north, Toronto to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south/south-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 previously mentioned municipalities.
Two major river valleys feed into the lake. TheCredit 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 thePort Credit harbour. The indented, mostly forested valley was inhabited by first nation peoples long before European exploration of the area. The valley is protected and maintained by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA).[39]
Etobicoke Creek forms part of the eastern border of Mississauga with the city of Toronto. North of there it passes through the western limits ofPearson Airport. There have been two aviation accidents, in 1978 and 2005 where aircraft overshot the runway 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 fromHurricane Hazel. Since that storm, houses are no longer constructed along the floodplain. The creek and its tributaries are administered by theToronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).[40]
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 centre of Mississauga entering the lake near Port Credit. Some small streams and reservoirs are part of theSixteen Mile Creek system in the far north-west corner of the city, but these drain toward the lake in neighbouring Milton and Oakville.
The shoreline of formerGlacial Lake Iroquois 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 former brickyard (Shoreline Dr. near Mavis Rd.), the ancient shoreline promenteau affords a clear view of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario on clear days. The land in Mississauga in ranges from a maximum elevation of 214 m (699 ft) ASL in the far western corner, near the Hwy. 407/401 junction, to a minimum elevation at the Lake Ontario shore of 76 m (249 ft) above sea level.
Apart from the embankments of Credit River valley, it tributaries and the Iroquois shoreline, the only noticeable hills in Mississauga are actually part of the formerBritannia Landfill, now a golf course on Terry Fox Way.
On August 17, 2024, heavy rainfalls caused localized flooding in areas across the city. The floods caused many traffic disruptions as well as dangerous road conditions and road closures. All creeks and rivers throughout Mississauga were either at full capacity or flooded into parks and greenspaces.[41]
Mississauga's climate is similar to that of Toronto and is considered to be moderate,[43] located inplant hardiness zone 7a.[44] Under theKöppen climate classification, Mississauga has ahumid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb).[45] Summers can bring periods of high temperatures accompanied with high humidity.[43] While the average daily high temperature in July and August is 27 °C (80.6 °F), temperatures can rise above 32 °C (89.6 °F). In an average summer, there are an average of 15.8 days where the temperature rises above 30 °C (86.0 °F).[46] Winters can be cold with temperatures that are frequently below freezing.[43] In January and February, the mean temperatures are −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) and −4.5 °C (23.9 °F) respectively, it is common for temperatures to fall to −15 °C (5.0 °F), usually for only short periods.[43] In an average winter, there are 3.9 nights where the temperature falls below −20 °C (−4.0 °F).[46][43] The amount of snowfall received during an average winter season is 108.5 centimetres (42.7 in), averaging 44.4 days with measurable snowfall.[46] The climate of Mississauga is officially represented byPearson International Airport but because of its topography and large surface area conditions can differ depending on location: fog tends to be more common along the Lakeshore and in the Credit River Valley at certain times of year, particularly during the spring and autumn.[citation needed]
During snowfalls when temperatures hover close to freezing, northern parts of the city, such as around Derry Road, including Pearson Airport away from warmer Lake Ontario usually get more snow that sticks to the ground because of the lower temperatures, often when rain transitions into snow or mixed precipitation.[citation needed] The reverse occurs when a strong storm approaches from the south kicking uplake effect snow, bringing higher snowfall totals to south Mississauga. The city usually experiences at least six months of snow-free weather; however, there is the odd occurrence where snow does fall either in October or May, none which sticks to the ground.[citation needed] The Port Credit and Lakeview areas have a micro-climate more affected by the proximity of the open lake, warming winter temperatures as a result, but it can be sharply cooler on spring and summer afternoons, this can also be the case in Clarkson, but with much less consistency.[citation needed]
Most thunderstorms are not severe but can occasionally bring violent winds. The last known tornado to cause significant damage touched down on 7 July 1985, when an F1-rated tornado struck an industrial park in the Meadowvale area (Argentia Road), heavily damaging some buildings and some parked tractor trailers. A relatively strong tornado tore a path across Mississauga (then part of Toronto Township) on 24 June 1923, cutting a swath from present-day Meadowvale to near Cooksville, killing four people and causing massive property damage in a time when most of Mississauga was still rural farmland dotted with fruit orchards.[47][48][49]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Mississauga had a population of717,961 living in244,575 of its254,089 total private dwellings, a change of-0.5% from its 2016 population of721,599. With a land area of 292.74 km2 (113.03 sq mi), it had a population density of2,452.6/km2 (6,352.1/sq mi) in 2021.[53]
In 2021, 15.2% of the population was under 15 years of age, and 16.6% was 65 years and over. The median age in Mississauga was 40.8.[54]
The 2021 census found that English was themother tongue of 44.9% of the population. The next most common mother tongues were Urdu (5.0%), Arabic (4.7%), Mandarin (3.2%), Polish (3.1%), and Punjabi (2.9%). Of the official languages, 96.5% of the population knew English and 6.8% knew French.[63]
Over 60 of the Fortune 500 companies base their global or Canadian head offices in Mississauga. Some of the strongest industries are pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, electronics and computers, aerospace, transportation parts and equipment industries.[64]
Mississauga has a vibrant arts community, promoted by the Mississauga Arts Council, which holds an annual awards ceremony, called the MARTYs, to celebrate the city's entertainers, artists, filmmakers, writers, and musicians.[72]
Mississauga's largest festivities such asCanada Day Celebration, Mississauga Rotary Ribfest, Tree Lighting Ceremony, andNew Year's Eve Bash generally occur in Celebration Square. The Canada Day celebration was attended by 130,000 people in 2012, the Ribfest has recorded 120,000 visitors in 2012, and the inaugural New Year's Eve in 2011 has attracted 30,000 spectators.[73][74]
One of the most anticipated events in the city is Carassauga, a festival of cultures that occurs annually during mid-May. It is the second largest cultural festival in Canada. During 2013, 4014 performances took place and 300,000 people attended.[75] Carassauga attempts to display the different cultures around the world by setting up pavilions for countries around Mississauga. Visitors get free public transportation with their ticket to tour the city and explore the different pavilions. Various countries showcase their culture through food stalls, dance performances and small vendors. The event largely takes place in the Hershey Centre.[citation needed]
There are also culture-specific festivals held in Celebration Square, including Fiesta Ng Kalayaan for thePhilippines, Viet Summerfest forVietnam, Muslimfest for the city'sMuslim community, Indian festival Diwali and Mosaic Festival, which is the largest South Asian multi-disciplinary arts festival in North America.[76]
The annual Bread and Honey Festival is held inStreetsville, a district that was once an independent rural village. It is held every first weekend of June at Streetsville Memorial Park to commemorate the founding of the village. The festival was inaugurated in 1974, in response to amalgamation with the City of Mississauga.[77] Activities include the Bread and Honey Race, which raises money for charities and local hospitals.[78] It also has its own annual Canada Day celebrations, which are also held at Streetsville Memorial Park.
Port Credit, another neighbourhood that was formerly a town, holds multiple festivals throughout the year. During the summer, there are street performances on multiple venues scattered throughout the district during Buskerfest. The neighbourhood also holds a grand parade named "Paint the Town Red" during Canada Day. Finally, during August, it holds the Mississauga Waterfront Festival, which includes concerts as well as family activities. During September, theTim Hortons Southside Shuffle is being held to celebrate the neighbourhood's Blues and Jazz Festival, which includes musical performances from local blues and jazz artists.[79][80][81]
TheMalton neighbourhood, which contains a significant number ofSikhs, holds its annualKhalsa Day parade, marching between thegurdwaras in Malton (Sri Guru Singh Sabha) and in theRexdale neighbourhood in Toronto (Sikh Spiritual Centre). This parade is attended by 100,000 people.[82]
Mississauga has a significantJewish population, with active community classes, cultural activities and holiday celebrations.[83][84][85][86]
In 2006, with the help ofProject for Public Spaces,[87] the city started hosting "My Mississauga" summer festivities at its Civic Square.[88] Mississauga planned over 60 free events to bring more people to the city square. The square was transformed and included 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 theCanada Day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, Tree Lighting Ceremony, and Beachfest.
Civic Square has completed its restructuring project using federal stimulus money, which features a permanent stage, a larger ice rink (which also serves as a fountain and wading pool during the summer season), media screens, and a permanent restaurant. It officially reopened at 22 June 2011 and has since been renamed as Mississauga Celebration Square. More events have been added such as holding free outdoor live concerts, and live telecast ofUEFA European Football Championship. The square also holds weekly programming such as fitness classes, amphitheatre performances and movie nights during the summer, children's activities during spring and fall, and skate parties during the winter. The opening of the square has also allowed the city to hold its first annualNew Year's Eve celebration in 2011.
In October 2012, the square had attracted its one millionth visitor.[89]
TheArt Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit art gallery located in theMississauga Civic Centre right on Celebration Square across from the Living Arts Centre and Square One Shopping Centre. AGM is sponsored by the City of Mississauga,Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Trillium Foundation and theOntario Arts Council. The art gallery offers free admission and tours and is open every day. AGM has over 500 copies and is working on creating a digital gallery led by gallery assistant Aaron Guravich.[90][91]
Square One Shopping Centre is located in the City Centre and is the second largest shopping mall in Canada. It boasts more than 350 retail stores and services and attracts 24 million annual visitors and makes over $1 billion in annual retail sales.[92][93] It opened in 1973.[94]
Other shopping centres includeDixie Outlet Mall; located in the southeastern area of the city. It is Canada's largest enclosed outlet mall. It opened in 1956 when the city was still known as Toronto Township, and is Mississauga's first shopping mall. Many factory outlets of premium brands are located in this mall.[97]Heartland Town Centre is an unenclosedpower centre with 180 stores and restaurants.[98] A flea market, the Fantastic Flea Market, is Mississauga's oldest flea market, and opened in 1976.
Recreational clubs include the Mississauga Figure Skating Club, Mississauga Synchronized Swimming Association,[99] Mississauga Canoe Club, Mississauga Scrabble Club,[100] Don Rowing Club at Port Credit, International Soccer Club Mississauga,[101] and the Mississauga Aquatic Club. There are over 481 parks and woodlands areas in Mississauga, with nearly 100 km (62 mi) of trails that users can traverse.[102] Mississauga is home to many indoor playgrounds including Kids Time Family Fun Centre, KidSports indoor playground, and Laser Quest Centre. There are over 26 major indoor playgrounds in the city of Mississauga.[103]
Kariya Park, opened in 1992, is a Japanese garden located in the City Centre. It is named after Mississauga’s sister city,Kariya, Japan.
Since 2016, Mississauga has made immense efforts to rehabilitate its Lakeshore, with collection of garbage occurring daily, and detailed water quality monitoring taking place to ensure a safe swimming environment. As of 2024, Mississauga has some of the most pristine beaches in the Greater Toronto Area, attracting tens of thousands of locals and tourists from all over.
Within Mississauga, beaches are concentrated along the shore of Lake Ontario, with the notable exception of the Lake Aquitaine boardwalk.The most distinguished beaches are Jack Darling Memorial Park and RK McMillan Park, as well as St. Lawrence Park in Port Credit.
The images in the collage, from top left to bottom right, are: Tall Oaks Park, The Shallows at St. Lawrence Park, Jack Darling Memorial Park, and Hiawatha Park.
Mississauga'sParamount Fine Foods Centre (formerly the Hershey Centre) is the city's main sports venue. It is the home arena for theRaptors 905 of theNBA G League. The arena was originally built for Mississauga's first OHL team, theMississauga Icedogs, before they moved toSt. Catharines and became theNiagara IceDogs. The Steelheads are the rebrandedMississauga St. Michael's Majors who had moved from Toronto in 2007. The arena was formerly the home of theMississauga MetroStars of theMASL. It formerly was the home arena for theMississauga Power of theNational Basketball League of Canada before the team dissolved in 2015 after the announcement of the Raptors 905. In 2018, Mississauga's City Council approved a motion to study the feasibility and business case for construction of a new stadium in Mississauga with the hope of gaining a new CPL Team.
Mississauga also has teams forbox lacrosse (Mississauga Tomahawks of theOLA Junior A Lacrosse League),cricket (Mississauga Ramblers of the Toronto and District Cricket League, Mississauga Titans of the Etobicoke District Cricket League), andCanadian football. The Mississauga Football League (MFL) is a youth football program that is for players aged 7–17, founded in 1971. The city also has other amateur football teams in Ontario leagues: the Mississauga Warriors of the Ontario Varsity Football League and theMississauga Demons of theOntario Australian Football League. Mississauga'srugby players are now served by the Mississauga Blues[104] through u7 - u17 Youth And Junior Programs as well as hosting one or more Senior Men's and Senior Women's Teams.
Ringette is one of the affiliated youth groups that are allocated ice time by the City of Mississauga (Recreation and Parks Division, Community Services Department) on an allocated priority basis.[105] The Ringette program is administered by the Mississauga Ringette Association.
The City of Mississauga has had only four mayors in its history.Martin Dobkin was the city's first mayor in 1974. He was then followed byRon A. Searle. Searle was defeated in 1978 by then-city councillor and former mayor of Streetsville, Hazel McCallion. McCallion won 12 consecutive terms as mayor, but she chose to retire prior to the November 2014 election and was succeeded by Bonnie Crombie, who won the election.
McCallion was regarded as a force in provincial politics and often referred to asHurricane Hazel, after thedevastating 1954 storm that struck the Toronto area. McCallion won or was acclaimed in every mayoral election from 1978 to 2010, in some later elections without even campaigning. In October 2010, McCallion won her twelfth term in office with over 76% of the votes. McCallion was the nation's longest-serving mayor and was runner-up in World Mayor 2005.[111] In 2014 McCallion did not run again, but endorsed Crombie, the eventual winner who became mayor in November 2014.[109]
Commuter rail service is provided byGO Transit, a division of Metrolinx, on theLakeshore West,Kitchener, andMilton lines. All-day service is provided along the Lakeshore West line, while the Kitchener and Milton lines serve commuters going to and from Toronto'sUnion Station during rush hours.
The city's public transit service,MiWay (formerly Mississauga Transit), provides bus service along more than 60 routes across the city, and connects to commuter rail with GO Transit as well as with Brampton Transit, Oakville Transit, and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). MiWay operates routes for both local service (branded as "MiLocal") andlimited-stop service (branded as "MiExpress").
Intercity buses operated by GO Transit stop at GO Train stations throughout the city and theSquare One Bus Terminal.
There are plans for the construction of anLRT line alongHurontario Street stretching from Port Credit to southern Brampton, and possibly to Brampton's downtown. The project went through the Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) which includes environmental assessment. The line will be fully funded by the provincial government, with construction set to begin in 2018. Rapid transit lines could possibly be built on some other main thoroughfares, namely Dundas Street and Lakeshore Road, but no definite dates have been set.[116]
As of 2024, progress for the Hurontario LRT is well underway, with an expected completion of late 2024 to mid-2025.
In addition to the 19 km (12 mi) light rail line, there are plans to extend Line 5 Eglinton toRenforth station andToronto Pearson International Airport though eastern Mississauga by 2030–2031 bringing theToronto Subway into Mississauga. There will be 4 stops in the city at Renforth Gateway connecting with the Mississauga Transitway and serving the Airport Corporate Centre, Convair serving the GTAA headquarters and airfield and aircraft maintenance areas, Silver Dart serving rental car facilities and airport hotels, and Pearson Airport serving the airport at a future transit hub.[117]
Highway 401 (or the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connectingWindsor to theQuebec border) passes through the city's north end. The eastern part uses the collector/express lane system and feeds intoHighway 403, the main freeway in the city, which runs through the City Centre andErin Mills areas. TheQueen Elizabeth Way, the city's first freeway, runs through the southern half of the city. These three freeways each run east–west, with the exception of the 403 from the 401 to Cawthra Road, and from the 407 to QEW. North of the 401, the collector lanes of the 403 becomeHighway 410, which goes to Brampton. Part ofHighway 409 is within the city of Mississauga, and it provides access toPearson Airport. Two other freeways run along or close to Mississauga's municipal borders.Highway 407 runs metres from the northern city limits in a power transmission corridor and forms the city's boundary with Milton between highways 401 and 403.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 aroundCentennial Park.
In 2010, the City of Mississauga approved a Cycling Master Plan outlining a strategy to develop over 900 kilometres (560 miles) of on and off-road cycling routes in the city over the next 20 years. Over 1,000 Mississauga citizens and stakeholders contributed their thoughts and ideas to help develop this plan. The plan focuses on fostering cycling as a way of life in the city, building an integrated network of cycling routes and aims to adopt a safety first approach to cycling.[120]
As of 2024, the city has bi-directional bus lanes on most major arteries, with designated bike paths on many roads such as Eglinton Avenue, Lakeshore Road West, Burnhamthorpe Road and Derry Road, to name a few. For roads which do not have designated bike lanes, there is often signage posted as well as markings on the road, indicating that bikes are permitted to use the shoulder where available, or the right-most lane in most other situations.
The city's two main hospitals—Credit Valley Hospital andMississauga Hospital—were amalgamated into theTrillium Health Partners hospital group in December 2011. The health system and the administration for students in Mississauga was the property of the Peel District School Board Health Centre[121] and the health support for citizens in Mississauga was the property of Peel Health Centre.[122] The eastern part of Mississauga was the property of Pearson Health (Greater Toronto Area Health Department).[123]
The city is the home to theUniversity of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), the second-largest of three campuses that make up theUniversity of Toronto's tri-campus system. U of T is the largest post-secondary institution in Canada, and its Mississauga campus has an enrolment of over 17,000 students,[125] growing at a rate of about 1,000 students per year since 2002. The campus is located in the Erindale neighbourhood on the bank of theCredit River on 225 acres of protected forest.[126] It hosts 15 academic departments, more than 180 programs in 90 areas of study, and includes institutes for Management and Innovation as well as Communication, Culture, Information and Technology. TheMississauga Academy of Medicine, opened in 2011, is based at theTerrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex on campus, as a partnership between the university'sTemerty Faculty of Medicine andTrillium Health Partners.[127] UTM employs over 3,400 full- and part-time employees (including 1,250 permanent faculty and staff), and has more than 69,000 alumni all over the world, including astronautRoberta Bondar, filmmakerRichie Mehta, actorZaib Shaikh, and writer/poetDionne Brand. Recent expansions include the $35-millionInnovation Complex, which opened in September 2014 and houses the Institute for Management and Innovation, and the multi-phase North Building reconstruction, now known as Deerfield Hall andMaanjiwe nendamowinan, opened in September 2014 and 2018 respectively. The latter is a $89 million 210,000 square foot, six-storey facility which houses several academic departments, lecture halls, and study spaces.[128]
Sheridan College's Hazel McCallion Campus in Mississauga City Centre
Sheridan College opened its $46 million Hazel McCallion Campus in Mississauga in 2011. The facility has two main concentrations: business education, and programs to accelerate the movement of new Canadians into the workforce. The 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) campus is located on an 8.5-acre (34,000 m2) parcel of land inCity Centre nearSquare One just north of the Living Arts Centre. The campus accommodated 1,700 students upon completion of phase one of construction in Fall 2011. Phase two of construction after 2011 increased capacity by 3,740 students to a combined total of 5,000; it also included construction of a 10-level municipal parking garage.[129][130][131][132]
Mississauga is part of the Toronto media market and is served by media based in Toronto, with markets in theGreater Toronto Area (GTA) that cover most of the news in the GTA. Examples of this being the majority of radio stations transmitting from the nearbyCN Tower in Toronto. However, Mississauga also hasThe Mississauga News, a regional newspaper that is published two days a week in print and daily online.[133] There is also theSunday Times, a community newspaper for the South Asian community that is published weekly in print and also available online, as well asModern Mississauga, a bi-monthly general-interest print and digital magazine.[134]
TheFreedom of the City is the highest honour that a Canadian municipality can bestow on an individual or military unit.The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the City of Mississauga.
^abcdefghSmith, David G. (2002). "Ten Thousand Years". In Dieterman, Frank A. (ed.).Mississauga: The First 10,000 Years. Toronto: Eastendbooks. pp. 55–72.ISBN1-896973-28-0.
^abSmith, Donald B. (2002). "Their century and a half on the Credit: The Mississaugas in Mississauga". In Dieterman, Frank A. (ed.).Mississauga: The First 10,000 Years. Toronto: Eastendbooks. pp. 107–119.ISBN1-896973-28-0.
^abMcDonnell, Michael A. (2016).Masters of empire : Great Lakes Indians and the making of America. New York.ISBN978-0-8090-6800-5.OCLC932060403.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Kumar Agrawal, Sandeep (June 14, 2008). "Faith-based Ethnic Residential Communities and Neighbourliness in Canada".Planning Practice & Research.23 (1):41–56.doi:10.1080/02697450802076431.S2CID128679393.
^Le, Julia (February 7, 2011)."Course teaches soul-searching journey". Mississauga News.The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's (JLI) new course, Toward a Meaningful Life: A Soul-Searching Journey for Every Person...
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