Bonnie Crombie, left, and Carolyn Parrish are currently tied in the race for mayor, a new poll finds.
A new survey of Mississauga residents finds Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish are currently tied in the race for mayor.
If a mayoral election were held today, incumbent Parrish and former mayor Crombie would each receive 35 per cent among decided and leaning voters, followed by councillors Dipika Damerla at 18 per cent and Alvin Tedjo at 12 per cent, according to a new Liaison Strategies Mississauga survey.
Chart: Liaison Strategies
Among all voters, Parrish and Crombie are tied at 26 per cent each, followed by Damerla at 13 per cent and Tedjo at nine per cent. Twenty-six per cent are undecided, Liaison Strategies said.
“The more important number may be undecided,” said David Valentin, principal at Liaison Strategies. “That is a very large movable electorate in a municipal race and undecided, if it were a candidate, would be tied with Crombie and Parrish.”
Chart: Liaison Strategies
The numbers have changed compared with the Liaison Strategies October Mississauga poll, when Crombie led Parrish 38 per cent to 33 per cent, Tedjo was at 12 per cent, and Damerla was at 7 per cent, said Valentin.
“So the story is not simply that the statistical tie between Crombie and Parrish continues,” he said. “The bigger change is that Damerla has become a more serious presence on the ballot, moving from single digits in October to nearly one-in-five decided and leaning voters now.”
As of Aug. 14, there were 10 candidates registered for the mayoral race in Mississauga.
Frank Fang, who ran in the 2024 mayoral byelection in Mississauga; David Shaw, who ran in both the 2024 mayoral byelection and the 2022 municipal election for mayor; Mike Matulewicz who ran in 2024 mayoral byelection; Fadi Naami and Amjad Jilani were registered as of Aug. 14.
The newest candidate, Ana Luisa Vasquez de Espinal, registered as a mayoral candidate on Aug. 11.
Olivia Gannon withdrew from the mayoral race and has entered the race for Ward 1 councillor against incumbent Stephen Dasko.
The slate could change in the next week — candidate nominations are open until Aug. 21 at 2 p.m.
The Liaison Strategies survey also asked about the overall mood of the city. The survey found that 46 per cent of Mississauga residents say the city is moving in the wrong direction, compared to 32 per cent who say it is moving in the right direction and 22 per cent who are not sure.
Parrish’s job approval is slightly underwater: 38 per cent approve of the job she is doing as mayor, 42 per cent disapprove, and 20 per cent are not sure, the survey found
“The city mood is a real problem for City Hall,” Valentin said. “That gives any challenger room to argue that the city needs a change.”
The issues concerning residents have also changed since October.
Crime was the top issue then at 29 per cent. This time, affordability is narrowly first at 19 per cent, taxes are at 17 per cent, housing is at 16 per cent and crime and traffic are both at 13 per cent, the survey found.
Chart: Liaison Strategies
“The Peel Regional Police numbers are complicated,” Valentin said. “Residents clearly prioritize public safety: violent crime and property crime are the top two priorities for Peel police. But when a budget increase is framed as requiring higher property taxes or less spending elsewhere, support drops to just 25 per cent, while 49 per cent oppose it.”
Doug Ford is not an obvious asset in this mayoral race, Valentin added.
“Only 15 per cent say his support would make them more likely to vote for a candidate, while 39 per cent say it would make them less likely,” he said. “That is a negative endorsement environment.”
With the election over two months away, on Oct. 26, candidates could still change voters’ minds.
“Overall, this is a race with a vulnerable incumbent, a familiar former mayor, and a lot of undecided voters,” Valentin said. “Parrish is not out of contention, but the numbers show she has work to do. Crombie remains competitive, Damerla has meaningful support (though it is half of the leaders), and the city’s negative mood makes the next phase of the race much less predictable.”
Liaison surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Mississauga residents from Aug. 11 to Aug. 12, 2026, using Interactive Voice Recording technology.
Participants were reached through random digit dialling across both landline and cellular phone networks. The resulting data was weighted to match targets based on the 2021 Census. For the total sample, the margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin is higher for sub-samples. Totals may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.
For more information on who’s running in the Mississauga election, how to become a candidate and the election in general, visit the city’s election page online.
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