Former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish Wins Mississauga Mayoral Byelection

Then-Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish arrives at her office in Mississauga, Ont., on Nov. 19, 2004. Ms. Parrish was elected Mississauga mayor on June 10, 2024. CP Photo/Aaron Harris

Former Liberal MP and city councillor Carolyn Parrish has been elected mayor of Mississauga in the June 10 by-election.

“I will be there for everybody whether they voted for me or they didn’t. That’s my job,” Ms. Parris said in a video after winning the vote.

“Your support and trust mean the world to me. Together, we’ll continue to build a stronger and more vibrant Mississauga for all,” she added on the X platform.

The unofficial results of the by-election say she received 43,494 votes, a city news release said.

City Councillor Alvin Tedjo came in second with 35,005 votes, followed by fellow Councillor Stephen Dasko with 22,408 votes.

According to the city, voter turnout was about 25 percent, or over 138,500 voters.

The former secondary school teacher first joined the federal Liberal Party as an MP in 1993. She became an independent MP in 2004 until she retired in 2006.

Prior to running for federal office, Ms. Parrish served as a Peel Board of Education trustee. After she left federal politics, she was elected as a city councilor for Mississauga in 2014.

The mayoral by-election was started after previous Mayor Bonnie Crombie became leader of the provincial Liberal Party. Ms. Crombie announced her resignation in December 2023, which was effective Jan. 12. Councillors took turns in the mayor’s position between January and the by-election, starting with Councillor John Kovac.

Mayoral Plan

During the by-election campaign, Ms. Parrish released her plans of what she would tackle if she became mayor, which included housing affordability, cost of living, transportation, and safety.

In her housing affordability plans, she said the building process needed to be streamlined and she would put together an advisory panel of local developers to accomplish it. Other plans include supporting rezoning efforts to convert vacant offices and malls into mixed-use buildings that include homes.

Plans to reign in the cost of living include having quarterly budget meetings with each ward, pushing for a “fair share” of federal and provincial funding, keeping property taxes low, and controlling budget increases to the rate of inflation or lower.

Improving public transportation was another campaign promise, where Ms. Parrish said as mayor she would push for efficient routes and services, increase the number of bus shelters, and advocate for safe cycling lanes.

The mayor-elect also said she had a plan to improve public safety, including installing cargo scanners at shipping ports and rail yards to reduce transportation of stolen vehicles, monitoring the ratio of police officers to population, increasing hires when needed, and pushing for bail reform and harsher penalties for crimes like theft and break-ins.