Mississauga, Ontario
Encyclopedia


Mississauga is a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in Southern
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...

 Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades. Mississauga's growth reached a peak between the census years of 1986-1991, with the largest population growth in Canada (89,500). Sustained population growth has continued since, but at a somewhat slower pace. Mississauga is now the third most populous city on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

, surpassing the cities proper
City proper
City proper is defined as a "locality with legally fixed boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government", or the area within the corporate limits. This definition has been consistently used since the United Nations...

 of Detroit, Milwaukee and Cleveland over the last two decades.

Developed as a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Mississauga's growth is attributed to its proximity to that city. However, Mississauga's extensive corporate and industrial employment opportunities differentiate it from suburban bedroom communities. The city has also been trying to create a distinctive image for itself over the past few years. It held an international architectural design competition
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...

 in 2006 for a 56-storey condominium tower, to be called Absolute World
Absolute World
Absolute World is a residential condominium twin tower skyscraper complex in the five tower Absolute City Centre development in Mississauga, Ontario in suburban Toronto. The project is being built by Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Development Group...

, that is intended to be a landmark for the city. The city is debt-free and has not borrowed money since 1978. Mississauga has been the beneficiary of federal infrastructure funding but may have to borrow money to build new capital projects in 2012.

With five major freeways passing through the city, Mississauga offers quick access to major markets in Canada, in addition to large markets in the Northeastern
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

 and Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....

. Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

, Canada's busiest airport is located in the city. Mississauga has one of the largest corporate/financial districts in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with major international companies having their Canadian headquarters located in the region including Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...

, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

, Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

, Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....

, Walmart Canada , World Vision Canada and Intuit Canada
Intuit Canada
Intuit Canada is a developer of financial management and tax preparation solutions for personal finance and small business accounting. Services are delivered on a variety of platforms including application software, software connected to services, software as a service, platform as a service and...

 among many other Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...

 companies. Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...

, the second-largest shopping mall of Greater Toronto Area, is also situated in Mississauga. Residents of the city are called Mississaugans.

History

At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the 1600s, both Iroquoian and Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...

-speaking peoples already lived in the Credit River
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...

 Valley area. One of the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 groups the French traders found around the Credit River area were the Algonquian Mississaugas
Mississaugas
The Mississaugas are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations people located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwa...

, a tribe originally from the Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...

 area. By 1700 the Mississaugas had driven away the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

.

Toronto Township, consisting of most of present-day Mississauga, 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
Mississaugas
The Mississaugas are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations people located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwa...

. In January 2010, the Mississaugas and the federal government settled a land claim, in which the band received $145,000,000, as more just compensation for their land and lost income.

The original villages (and some later towns) settled included: Lakeview, Clarkson, Cooksville
Cooksville, Ontario
Cooksville is a neighbourhood in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Dundas Street and Hurontario Street.-History:...

, Dixie, Erindale (called Springfield until 1890), Lorne Park, Port Credit
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...

, Sheridan, 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, the Crown gave much of it in the form of land grants to United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...

 who emigrated from the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

 during and after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, as well as loyalists from New Brunswick. A group of settlers from New York City 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, Derry West, Elmbank, Malton
Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 36,400 as of 2002....

, Meadowvale Village
Meadowvale, Ontario
Meadowvale is a community located in the northwestern part of Mississauga, just west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a village in Toronto Township...

, Mount Charles, and Streetsville
Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville is an established community located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River...

. European-Canadian growth led to the eventual displacement of the Mississaugas. In 1847, the government relocated them to a reserve in the Grand River Valley near present-day Hagersville
Hagersville, Ontario
Hagersville is a community in Haldimand County, Ontario which gained international notoriety in 1990 for a gigantic uncontrolled tire fire which spewed toxic smoke for seventeen days...

.

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 gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

s and brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....

 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.

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

Malton Airport opened in 1937, which would become Canada's busiest, Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

.

The Queen Elizabeth Way
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...

 (QEW) highway, one of the first controlled access highways in the world opened from Highway 27 to Highway 10, Port Credit, in 1935 and later to Hamilton and Niagara in 1939. The first prototypical suburban developments occurred around the same time, in the area south of the Dixie Road/QEW interchange. 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, sprang up in the 1960s and 70s.

With the exception of Port Credit
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...

 and Streetsville, the township settlements of Lakeview, Cooksville, Lorne Park, Clarkson, Erindale, Sheridan, Dixie, Meadowvale Village, and Malton
Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 36,400 as of 2002....

 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
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...

 opened, which has since expanded many times.

On November 10, 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 and Dundas Street in Mississauga. One of the tank cars carrying propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...

 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 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
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...

 continues to use the former community names, rather than "Mississauga", to identify exchanges in the city: Clarkson, Cooksville, Malton, Port Credit, Streetsville.

On January 1, 2010, Mississauga bought land from the Town of Milton
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

 and expanded its border by 400 acres (1.6 km²) to Hwy. 407 affecting 25 residents.

Politics

Mississauga has had only three mayors in its history. Dr. Martin Dobkin
Martin L. Dobkin
Martin L. Dobkin was the first mayor of the City of Mississauga, Ontario . He was succeeded by Ron A. Searle.The Dr. Martin Dobkin Park in Mississauga is named in his honour.-Early life:...

 was the city's first mayor in 1974. He was then followed by Ron A. Searle
Ron A. Searle
Ron Searle was the second mayor of Mississauga, Ontario.-Early life:He was born in Southampton, England on July 19, 1919 to Ruby and Alfred Searle. He was later joined by a sister, Barbara. His mother Ruby was a seamstress and his father Alfred was a seaman with the White Star Line and the Royal...

. Searle was defeated by then-city councillor and former mayor of Streetsville, Hazel McCallion
Hazel McCallion
Hazel McCallion, née Joueneaux, CM is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario. McCallion has been Mississauga's mayor for years, holding office since 1978...

. 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
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...

 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. In October 2010, McCallion won her twelfth term in office with over 76% of the votes. McCallion is the nation's longest serving mayor and was runner-up in World Mayor 2005.

The mayor is currently part of the judicial inquiry into a land deal that her son, Peter McCallion, was involved with. The deal centred around Peter McCallion's development firm, World Class Developments purchasing lands from Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System with the intention of building a high end hotel-condominium-office complex near City Hall. The deal eventually fell through but revelations that possible influence peddling by the mayor on behalf of her son, non-disclosure by the mayor to city council about the deal and the proposed exemption of development fees for World Class are being looked into, amongst other alleged improprieties.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/mississauga/mccallion/article/840170--hazel-mccallion-was-only-doing-what-was-best-for-mississauga-inquiry-told
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/mississauga/mccallion/article/840608--hazel-mccallion-pushed-son-s-project

Geography

Mississauga covers 288.42 square kilometres (111.4 sq mi) of land, fronting 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of shoreline on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

.

Mississauga is bounded by Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...

 and Milton
Milton, Ontario
Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

 to the west/southwest, Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...

 to the north, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south/south-east. Halton Hills
Halton Hills, Ontario
Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located within the Greater Toronto Area....

 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
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...

 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
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...

 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).

Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek is one of the many creeks running through Toronto, Ontario and the Toronto Area into Lake Ontario, often characterized by their winding paths through deep ravines and distinctive shale banks....

 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
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

. 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
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...

. 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
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority or Office de protection de la nature de Toronto et de la région is one of 36 conservation authorities in Ontario, Canada...

 (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 shoreline of former Glacial Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...

 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. in Cooksville
Cooksville, Ontario
Cooksville is a neighbourhood in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Dundas Street and Hurontario Street.-History:...

), the ancient shoreline drops below affording a clear view of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario on clear days from the ridge. The land in Mississauga in general slopes gradually downward from almost 190 metres (623 ft) ASL in some northern spots to Lake Ontario(76 m/249 ft ASL), a 110 metre (361 ft) difference over an averaged 15 kilometres (9 mi) distance.

Apart from the Credit River valley and Iroquois shoreline, the only noticeable hills in Mississauga are actually part of the former Britannia Landfill
Britannia Landfill
Britannia Landfill, now BraeBen Golf Course, and previously Britannia Hills Golf Course was a garbage dump located in the city of Mississauga and later transformed into a golf course. The site is located on Terry Fox Way south of Britannia Road West.Opened in 1980 by Peel Region, the site took...

 near Streetsville and Centennial Park Ski Hill which is on the Toronto side of Etobicoke Creek.

Climate

The climate of Mississauga is officially represented by Pearson International Airport but 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.

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 because of colder temperatures. The reverse occurs when a strong storm approaches from the south kicking up lake effect snow
Lake effect snow
Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the leeward shores...

, bringing higher snowfall totals to south Mississauga.The city usually experiences 8 months of snow free climate however there is the odd occurrence where snow does fall either in November or April.

Summer thunderstorms are common, most are not severe but can occasionally bring violent winds. The last known tornado to cause significant damage touched down 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 still rural farmland dotted with fruit orchards.

Attractions

In 2006, with the help of Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities. Planning and design rooted in the community form the cornerstone of PPS’s work. Building on the techniques of William H...

, the city started hosting "My Mississauga" summer festivities at its civic square. 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 the Canada Day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, and Beachfest. The civic square is currently being reconstructed using federal stimulus money and will feature a permanent stage, a larger ice rink, media screens, and a permanent restaurant. Mississauga also boasts one of the largest shopping malls in Canada called Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...

, which is surrounded by several bars and restaurants, as well as City Hall, the Central Library, and Playdium
Playdium
Playdium is a Canadian company which operates a large Family Entertainment Center in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada...

. Mississauga also hosts a cultural festival named Carassauga each year to celebrate the diverse population. Mississauga is the home to Mosaic, the largest South Asian multi-disciplinary arts festival in North America. Now in its sixth year Mosaic is a completely free festival that attracts 50,000 people in three days.

Historical attractions

  • Adamson Estate
    Adamson Estate
    The Adamson Estate, which forms the eastern boundary of Port Credit, Ontario, was purchased from the family of Agar Adamson by the City of Mississauga, Ontario in 1974 upon the urging of the local ratepayers group known as Project H21 after a proposed real estate development which would have...

  • Benares Historic House
  • Bradley Museum
  • Cawthra Estate
  • Old Meadowvale Village
  • Leslie Log Cabin
  • Elliot House

Sports and recreation

Mississauga has been the home of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The team was originally known as the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, whose hockey program was founded and operated by St. Michael's College School in 1906...

 of the Ontario Hockey League
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....

 since 2007, when the team moved from Toronto. It was previously home to the Mississauga Icedogs
Mississauga IceDogs
The Mississauga IceDogs are a former junior ice hockey team in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998 to 2007. A sale relocated the team to St...

 from 1999–2007, before they moved to St. Catharines
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

 and became the Niagara IceDogs
Niagara IceDogs
The Niagara IceDogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was originally known as the Mississauga IceDogs and founded in 1996. The team was relocated to St. Catharines and played its inaugural season in the Niagara...

. The Hershey Centre
Hershey Centre
The Hershey Centre is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex located in Mississauga, Ontario, across the street from Iceland Mississauga.-History:...

, 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
Mississauga Chiefs
The Mississauga Chiefs was a professional women's ice hockey team that plays in Mississauga , Ontario. The team has played in the National Women's Hockey League and after in the Canadian Women's Hockey League...

 of the Canadian Women's Hockey League
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's ice hockey leagues in Canada. The league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams: three in Ontario, one in Quebec, one in Alberta and one in Boston, Massachusetts....

 (who play at Iceland Mississauga), the Mississauga Chargers
Mississauga Chargers
The Mississauga Chargers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. They are the product of a 1990 merger of two former Metro Junior B franchises, the Thornhill Thunderbirds and the Markham Connection...

 of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The league dates back to 1954 as the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the Central Junior B Hockey League was promoted to the...

 (who play at Port Credit Arena), and the many teams in the Greater Toronto Hockey League
Greater Toronto Hockey League
The Greater Toronto Hockey League , formerly known as the "Metro Toronto Hockey League", is a minor level ice hockey organization based out of the Toronto region of Ontario. The league was founded in 1911 as the Beaches Hockey League by Fred C. Waghorne, Sr., and it is the largest minor hockey...

, 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
Box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...

 (Mississauga Tomahawks
Mississauga Tomahawks
The Mississauga Tomahawks are Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The Tomahawks play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League...

 of the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League
OLA Junior A Lacrosse League
The Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League is a box lacrosse league in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The playoff champion moves on to compete for the National Championship—the Minto Cup.-The teams:-Playoff Champions:...

), cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 (Mississauga Ramblers of the Toronto and District Cricket League, Mississauga Titans of the Etobicoke District Cricket League), and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

. 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 the Mississauga Demons
Mississauga Demons
The High Park Demons are an amateur Australian rules football club based in Toronto, Canada.-History:...

 of the Ontario Australian Football League
Ontario Australian Football League
The Ontario Australian Football League is the largest Australian Football league in North America. It is currently composed of teams from the Greater Toronto Area, Southwestern Ontario and the National Capital Region, who play off for the Conacher Cup , presently awarded to the winner of the annual...

. Mississauga's rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 players are now served by the Mississauga Blues at the youth level though many still play for the more established clubs in neighbouring cities.

Recreational clubs include the Mississauga Figure Skating Club, Mississauga Synchronized Swimming Association, North Mississauga Soccer Club, Mississauga Falcons Soccer Club, Mississauga Canoe Club, Mississauga Scrabble Club, Don Rowing Club at Port Credit, and the Mississauga Aquatic Club. There are over 481 parks and woodlands areas in Mississauga.
Mississauga is home to many of the finest indoor playgrounds in Ontario including Playdium,Kids Time Family Fun Center, KidSports indoor playground, and Laser Quest Center. There are over 26 major indoor playgrounds in the city of Mississauga.

Media

Mississauga is primarily served by media based in Toronto, with markets in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

 (GTA) that cover most of the news in the GTA. Examples of this being the majority of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 stations transmitting from the nearby CN Tower
CN Tower
The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...

 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. However, Mississauga also has The Mississauga News
The Mississauga News
The Mississauga News is an English language newspaper serving Mississauga, Ontario. It part of the Peel and Southwest Division of the Metroland Media Group, a Torstar company. Published twice a week, the Mississauga News is a perennial newspaper award winner, including best newspaper in Ontario and...

, a regional newspaper that is published three days a week in print and daily online, and the Sunday Times, a community newspaper for the South Asian community that is published weekly in print and also available online, as well as MississaugaLife Magazine, a monthly general interest magazine. The city also has one specialty radio station: FM 91.9 CFRE
CFRE-FM
CFRE is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 91.9 FM in Mississauga, Ontario. The campus radio station of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, the station first broadcast in 1970.CNN's J.D. Roberts began his career at CFRE...

, the campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

 station of the University of Toronto Mississauga
University of Toronto Mississauga
The University of Toronto Mississauga is a satellite campus of the University of Toronto, located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The university is set upon a park-like campus on the valley of the Credit River, approximately 33 kilometres west of Downtown Toronto...

 broadcasting at very low power.

The following national cable television stations also broadcast from Mississauga. For more area stations, see Toronto television stations.
  • Rogers Television
    Rogers Television
    Rogers TV, are community channels owned by Rogers Communications Inc. Many of these channels share common programs. Rogers TV broadcasts into the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. Rogers TV is available only in communities served by Rogers' cable and...

    , community channel
  • The Shopping Channel
    The Shopping Channel
    The Shopping Channel is a Canadian English language cable television home shopping channel. The Shopping Channel is a division of Rogers Media. The channel is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It showcases various products throughout the day of which viewers can purchase either by telephone or...

    , broadcasts nationally from Mississauga
  • The Weather Network
    The Weather Network
    The Weather Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts weather-related news and information 24 hours a day....

    , broadcast nationally from Mississauga 1998-2005
  • Bite TV
    Bite TV
    BiteTV is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel. BiteTV is a comedy-focused channel including sitcoms, sketch comedy, stand-up, films, comedy shorts, and more...

    , Canada's first interactive television station.
  • RawalTV, Canada's first 24/7 Canadian/South Asian television channel.

Economy

Over 60 of the Fortune 500 base their Global or Canadian Head Offices in Mississauga. Some of the strongest industries are pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, electronics and computers, transportation parts and equipment industries.

Citibank Canada
Citibank Canada
Citibank Canada is a unit of Citigroup of New York City. The Canadian unit has been operating since 1954, with Canadian headquarters in Toronto...

, has 2 corporate IT development centres in Mississauga. TD Bank Financial, also has 3 Corporate IT development centres in Mississauga along with Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...

. Microsoft Canada is also located in Mississauga, and Menu Foods
Menu Foods
Menu Foods Limited, based in Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and was the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, with its products sold under 95 brand names, which the company identifies as supermarkets, big box and pet product retailers and wholesalers...

, a cat and dog food manufacturer, is headquartered in the Streetsville
Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville is an established community located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River...

 area of Mississauga. Hewlett Packard's main Canada offices are in Mississauga. Air Georgian
Air Georgian
Air Georgian Limited is an airline based in the Shell Aerocentre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established and started operations in 1994 and operates as a charter and airline carrier. It once had a C208 Amphib in the UAE which was the first in the region. It had a long time cargo...

, a regional airline, is headquartered in Mississauga. Air Canada Jazz
Air Canada Jazz
Jazz Aviation LP is a Canadian regional airline based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation....

 operates a regional office in Mississauga. Kam Air
Kam Air
Kam Air is an airline headquartered in the Kabul Business Centre in Shah-e-Naw, Kabul, Afghanistan. It operates scheduled domestic passenger services and international services to the Middle East and several Asian republics...

 has its North American office in Mississauga.

Demographics

Mississauga is a fast-growing and multicultural city. Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....

 estimates that Mississauga now has 734,000 people, an increase of 150,000 from the previous decade and the population has roughly doubled in past twenty-five years. The city has one of the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. According to the 2006 census, the racial makeup of the city is as follows:
Group Population Percentage
White
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

337,230 49.8
South Asian 136,750 21.6
Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

46,120 6.9
Black
Black Canadian
'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...

41,365 6.2
Filipino
Filipino Canadian
Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...

30,705 4.6
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

16,785 2.5
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

n
14,160 2.1
Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

n
12,410 1.9
Multiple Visible Minority 9,100 1.4
Korean
Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...

6,865 1.0
West Asian 6,015 0.9
Other Visible Minority 5,715 0.9
Aboriginal
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

2,475 0.4
Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

2,425 0.4


Census Population
1971 156,070
1981 315,056
1991 463,388
2001 612,925
2006 668,549
Est. 2010 729,000

Slightly less than 45% of the population speaks a language other than English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, reflecting a large immigrant population. 46.61% of the population was not born in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. 40.20% of the population are members of a visible minority (non-white or non-aboriginal). 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.

Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

ity is the majority faith of the city. The 2001 census indicated that 69.78% of the population adhere to Christianity, with Catholics constituting 42.00%, while the remaining 27.78% adhere to various Protestant, and Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 groups. Other practiced faiths were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 (6.83%), Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

ism (4.73%) Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

ism (3.82%), Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

.

Languages

Mississauga is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in Canada. The 2006 census found that English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 was spoken as mother tongue by 49.3% of the population. The next most common languages were the Chinese languages (5.5%), Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 (4.6%), Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 (4.4%), Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

 (3.6%), Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 (2.8%), Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

 (2.7%), Arabic (2.6%), Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 (2.5%) and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 (2.1%).
Mother tongue Population Percentage
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

328,295 49.32%
French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

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
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

36,445 5.48%
Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

30,725 4.62%
Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

29,020 4.36%
Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

24,145 3.63%
Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

18,745 2.82%
Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

17,890 2.69%
Arabic 17,290 2.60%
Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

16,580 2.49%
Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

14,145 2.12%
Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

10,380 1.56%
Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

10,025 1.51%
Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

8,425 1.27%
Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

7,620 1.14%
Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

6,310 0.95%

Mother tongue Population Percentage
Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....

5,785 0.87%
Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

5,775 0.87%
Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

4,640 0.70%
German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

4,485 0.67%
Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

3,540 0.53%
Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

3,280 0.49%
Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

3,150 0.47%
Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

2,815 0.42%
Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

2,320 0.35%
Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...

1,700 0.26%
Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

1,630 0.24%
Bosnian
Bosnian language
Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....

1,365 0.21%
Slovene 1,255 0.19%
Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

1,160 0.17%
Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

1,145 0.17%
Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

1,095 0.16%
Akan (Twi) 1,085 0.16%
Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

1,075 0.16%
Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...

1,070 0.16%
Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

1,060 0.16%


Law and government

Mississauga City Council
Mississauga City Council
Mississauga City Council is the governing body of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.The council consists of the mayor and 11 councillors elected to serve a four-year term. The last election was October 25, 2010...

 consists of the mayor and eleven city councillors, each representing one of the city's eleven wards. Peel Regional Police
Peel Regional Police
Peel Regional Police provides police services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada with 1,900 uniformed members and close to 800 support staff.Peel Region...

 provide policing within the city of Mississauga. In addition, the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

 have a Port Credit detachment in the city. Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services provides fire fighting service for the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.The Fire Service was established in 1974 and formed from local departments that existed prior to the creation of Mississauga, Ontario...

  provide fire fighting
Fire fighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing fires. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment...

 services and Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Peel Regional Paramedic Services
Peel Region Paramedics Services provides ambulatory and paramedic care for the municipalities within Peel Region, in Ontario, Canada. Paramedics operations are based in Mississauga....

 provides emergency medical services.

The Mississauga Library System
Mississauga Library System
The Mississauga Library System services Mississauga, Ontario with 17 branch libraries plus the Central Library, which has five floors of material.- Central Library :...

 is a municipally owned network of 18 libraries.

Electoral districts

  • Bramalea—Gore—Malton
    Bramalea—Gore—Malton
    Bramalea—Gore—Malton is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that is represented in the Canadian House of Commons....

  • Mississauga—Erindale
    Mississauga—Erindale
    Mississauga—Erindale is a federalelectoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created in 2003 from parts of Mississauga Centre and Mississauga West ridings....

  • Mississauga—Brampton South
    Mississauga—Brampton South
    Mississauga—Brampton South is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004....

  • Mississauga East—Cooksville
    Mississauga East—Cooksville
    Mississauga East—Cooksville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-History:It was created in 2003 from parts of Mississauga Centre and Mississauga East ridings....

  • Mississauga South
    Mississauga South
    Mississauga South is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979....

  • Mississauga—Streetsville
    Mississauga—Streetsville
    Mississauga—Streetsville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...


Education

Mississauga is the home to the University of Toronto Mississauga
University of Toronto Mississauga
The University of Toronto Mississauga is a satellite campus of the University of Toronto, located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The university is set upon a park-like campus on the valley of the Credit River, approximately 33 kilometres west of Downtown Toronto...

 (UTM/Erindale College), one of three intercity campuses of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. UTM has an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. It is growing at a rate of about 1,000 students per year since 2002, following a major expansion.

Sheridan College
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a diploma and degree granting Canadian polytechnic institute with approximately 15,000 full time students and 35,000 continuing education students...

 has announced the construction of a new $46 million dollar facility that will open in Mississauga in 2011. The school will have two main concentrations: business education and programs to accelerate the movement of new Canadians into the workforce. The 150000 sq ft (13,935.5 m²). campus will be located on an 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) parcel of land in City Centre just north of the Living Arts Centre. The campus is expected to accommodate 1,700 students upon completion of phase one of construction in Fall 2011. Phase two of construction after 2011 is expected to increase capacity by 3,740 students to a combined total of 5,000; it will also include construction of a 10-level municipal parking garage.

Mississauga is served by the Peel District School Board
Peel District School Board
Peel District School Board is a Canadian public board of education for the Peel Regional Municipality, headquartered in the HJA Brown Education Centre in Mississauga...

 and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is one of the largest school boards in Ontario, Canada. It oversees 148 school facilities throughout Peel Region and Dufferin County...

. 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:
  • French immersion
    French immersion
    French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French...

     schools in multiple locations across the city such as Applewood Heights Secondary School
    Applewood Heights Secondary School
    Applewood Heights Secondary School is a public secondary school in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and is part of the Peel District School Board. The school serves around thirteen hundred students with over a hundred teachers and school staff...

     and Clarkson Secondary School
    Clarkson Secondary School
    Clarkson Secondary School is a high school located in the Clarkson community of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; designated by the Peel District School Board. Clarkson is an average school in both population Clarkson Secondary School is a high school located in the Clarkson community of Mississauga,...

    .
  • Extended French Program at St. Thomas More School, Green Glade Senior Public School
    Green Glade Senior Public School
    * Principal: Wayne Jones* Mascot: Gator* Office Manager: Alexandra Ciotti* Superintendent: Wendy Dowling* Trustee: Brad MacDonald...

    , Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School
    Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School
    Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic high school in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and has approximately 1,373students. The school includes an Extended French Program as well as an Advanced Placement Program for...

     and St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School
    St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School
    St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School is a Catholic high school located in the Erin Mills community of Mississauga, Ontario, named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. The school opened in Mississauga in 2001, after spending a year as a holding school in Georgetown. It is a joint venture between the city...

  • Regional Arts Program at Queen Elizabeth Senior Public School and Cawthra Park Secondary School
    Cawthra Park Secondary School
    Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as CPSS, is a public high school located in Southeast Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.Cawthra Park provides instruction to students from grades 9 to 12 and is under the jurisdiction of the Peel District School Board....

     and Iona Catholic Secondary School
    Iona Catholic Secondary School
    Iona Catholic Secondary School is a school in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. It provides education to students from the Clarkson and Lorne Park areas of Mississauga, Ontario.-Elementary feeder schools:...

  • International Business and Technology Program at Allan A. Martin Senior Public School
    Allan A. Martin Senior Public School
    Allan A. Martin Senior Public School is a middle school located at 1390 Ogden Avenue in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the only middle school providing the International Business and Technology Program program in the South Peel Region....

     and Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School
    Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School
    Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School, "Gordon Graydon", "GGMSS", or simply "Graydon" for short, is a Canadian high school serving Grades 9 to 12, located at 1490 Ogden Avenue in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The school opened in 1957, and celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 26, 2007. It was...

  • International Baccalaureate Program at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School
    St. Francis Xavier High School, Mississauga, Ontario
    St. Francis Xavier Secondary School is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is a Catholic high school in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, and is home to 2206 students, about 130 instructional staff and support staff, and a childcare centre. The principal is currently Jim...

     and Glenforest Secondary School
    Glenforest Secondary School
    Glenforest Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is also known as GFSS, the short-form. Established in 1969, Glenforest Secondary School is in Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario. It is operated by the Peel District School Board and is also a...

    .
  • Sci Tech Program at Tomken Road Middle School
    Tomken Road Middle School
    Tomken Road Middle School is located at 3200 Tomken Road, Mississauga, Ontario. The school was constructed and open for use in 1968. The school contains two extra-curricular learning programs, the French Immersion program and a Sci-Tech program. The school also offers many diverse extra-curricular...

     and Port Credit Secondary School
    Port Credit Secondary School
    Port Credit Secondary School is a high school located in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, and is a part of the Peel District School Board. It was the first secondary school in Peel; it celebrated its 90th anniversary in May 2010. It is located just north of Port Credit, Ontario...

    .
  • Regional Enhanced Program at The Woodlands School , Glenforest Secondary School
    Glenforest Secondary School
    Glenforest Secondary School is a public secondary school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is also known as GFSS, the short-form. Established in 1969, Glenforest Secondary School is in Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario. It is operated by the Peel District School Board and is also a...

    , and Lorne Park Secondary School
    Lorne Park Secondary School
    Lorne Park Secondary School is a public high school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It serves the Lorne Park area.-History:...

    .

Health

The city's two main hospitals are Credit Valley Hospital
Credit Valley Hospital
Credit Valley Hospital is a regional hospital located in Mississauga, Ontario. It primarily serves the communities of north Mississauga; the villages of Streetsville, Meadowvale, Erin Mills and the surrounding area...

 and Trillium Health Centre
Trillium Health Centre
The Trillium Health Centre Bus Terminal is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the northern end of the Mississauga site..The bus terminal only contains a bus shelter.-Bus routes:...

 (formerly Mississauga Hospital). The health system and the administration for students in Mississauga was the property of the Peel District School Board Health Centre and the health support for citizens in Mississauga was the property of Peel Health Centre. The eastern part of Mississauga was the property of Pearson Health (Greater Toronto Area Health Department).

Highways

Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, connecting Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

 to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

) passes through the city's north end. The eastern part uses the collector/express lane system and feeds into Highway 403, the main freeway in the city, which runs through the City Centre and Erin Mills areas. The Queen Elizabeth Way
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...

, 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 become Highway 410, which goes to Brampton. Part of Highway 409 is within the city of Mississauga, and it provides access to Pearson Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

. 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 around Centennial Park
Centennial Park (Toronto)
Centennial Park is a large regional park located in westend Toronto, in the former city of Etobicoke. It is maintained by the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation.The park has a variety of features including:*Centennial Park Conservatory...

.

Rail

Mississauga is on three major railway lines (one each owned by the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

, the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

, and Metrolinx). Although Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....

 trains on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor
Quebec City – Windsor Corridor is the most densely-populated and heavily-industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, it extends from Quebec City in the east to Windsor, Ontario in the west, spanning . With more than 18 million people, it contained 51% of the country's population and...

 pass through Mississauga, the city lacks a station; the nearest stations are located in the neighbouring cities of Brampton, Oakville, and Toronto. The only passenger rail service is provided by GO Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

, on the Lakeshore West, Georgetown, and Milton lines. However these lines mainly serve commuters going to and from Toronto's Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...

, and only operate during rush hours on workdays.

There are plans for the construction of an LRT
Light Rail Transit
The name Light Rail Transit is used to refer to several light rail systems, as an official name or otherwise:* Please see List of tram and light-rail transit systems.-See also:* Light Rapid Transit * Light railway* Light rail...

 line along Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood.Within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, it is a major urban thoroughfare. Between Caledon and Orangeville, it is part of busy Highway 10, which leaves...

 stretching from Port Credit to the south to Downtown Brampton to the north. The project is currently undergoing environmental assessment and design phases. Light rail transit could possibly be built on some other main thoroughfares, namely Dundas Street and Lakeshore Road, but no definite dates have been set.

Bus

The city's public transit service, MiWay (formerly Mississauga Transit), provides bus service across the city, and connects to the Toronto subway and RT
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...

, GO Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

, Oakville Transit
Oakville Transit
Oakville Transit is the public transportation provider in Oakville, Ontario, Canada since 1972. It is a department of the town, and a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association. It offers the typical conventional bus service, and a para-transit service, called care-A-van, for those unable to...

, and Brampton Transit
Brampton Transit
Brampton Transit is public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974....

. MiWay offers two services: MiLocal for local travel, and MiExpress for express travel, stopping only at the terminals and the major stops.

A 12-station busway
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

 similar to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

's transitway
Ottawa Rapid Transit
In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the public transit service operated by OC Transpo has two rapid transit systems: the Transitway, a bus rapid transit network, and the O-Train, a diesel-powered light rail transit service operated on one line.-Major routes:...

 is being built along Highway 403 from Winston Churchill Boulevard
Winston Churchill Boulevard
Winston Churchill Boulevard is a long north-south roadway along the western edge of Peel Region, Ontario, Canada. The road begins at Lakeshore Road in the south in Mississauga, and ends in Caledon at Caledon/Garafraxa Town Line...

 to Renforth Drive via the City Centre
Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal
The City Centre Transit Terminal in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is the main transit hub and bus station for Miway, the city's public transit system. The station is situated on the northwest corner of Square One Shopping Centre....

. This will provide faster service for passengers by cutting commuting times by as much as half. The first phase of the bus rapid transit project is expected to be completed by early 2013.

Air

Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

 (YYZ) in northeastern Mississauga (Malton
Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 36,400 as of 2002....

) is a hub for Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...

 and WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...

 and provides flights to regional, national, and international destinations. It is Canada's busiest airport with over 30 million passenger movements annually.

Bicycle

In 2010, the City of Mississauga approved a Cycling Master Plan outlining a strategy to develop over 900 kilometres 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.

See also

  • List of people from Mississauga
  • The Mississauga Blob
    The Mississauga Blob
    The Mississauga Blob was the name given to a flaming object—later identified as a frisbee—that fell on a back-yard picnic table in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, at about 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 16, 1979....

  • Absolute World
    Absolute World
    Absolute World is a residential condominium twin tower skyscraper complex in the five tower Absolute City Centre development in Mississauga, Ontario in suburban Toronto. The project is being built by Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Development Group...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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