Bonnie Crombie, who served as Mississauga mayor from 2014 until 2024, is seeking the post once again in the 2026 mayoral election.

Bonnie Crombie knows some Mississauga voters might question her commitment to leading Canada’s seventh-largest city given she resigned as mayor in early 2024 to lead the Ontario Liberal Party.

Now in the midst of a 2026 mayoral campaign to regain the seat, Crombie says she’s making her case, and will continue to do so as residents prepare to vote on Oct. 26, that she’s not only dedicated to the city but that she’s better equipped than ever before to do the job.

“I left to fight for Mississauga (at the provincial level),” the former mayor told INsauga.com in an interview this week, adding “and I learned a lot along the way.

“I’ve come back with more experience, more seasoning” and a new perspective, continued Crombie, noting her observations — as leader of the provincial Liberals — of the problems facing Ontario municipalities have given her additional insight into “what works and what doesn’t work” when it comes to finding solutions to pressing matters such as affordable housing and rising crime rates.

Crombie won Ontario Liberal leadership race in 2023

Having won the Ontario Liberal leadership race in December 2023, Crombie then left the mayor’s office in Mississauga in January 2024.

Some 13 months later in the February 2025 provincial election, the Liberals were defeated decisively by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives. Running in the riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville, Crombie failed to win that seat and in January 2026 she officially resigned as Liberal leader.

It was in late 2025 that the former Mississauga mayor, who served in the role for 10 years after succeeding her mentor and political icon Hazel McCallion in 2014, first went public with the notion she wouldn’t rule out another run for the position.

Seeking a return to mayor’s post in 2026

Crombie then officially entered the Mississauga mayoral race last month, dramatically changing the dynamic of the 2026 campaign and setting up a high-profile political clash between herself and incumbent Carolyn Parrish.

What had already been shaping up as an interesting mayoral competition in Mississauga — with sitting councillors Alvin Tedjo (Ward 2) and Dipika Damerla (Ward 7) having thrown their hats into the ring earlier — suddenly became what promises to be one of the most closely watched races anywhere in Ontario.

Parrish, who won a mayoral byelection in June 2024 to succeed Crombie, has a lengthy political resume of her own in Mississauga.

And the two high-profile mayoral candidates have gone head-to-head in a heated municipal election campaign prior to 2026, with Crombie defeating Parrish (2,479 votes to 2,239 votes) in a September 2011 byelection for the Ward 5 council seat.

Took time to consider next move

Following her unsuccessful bid to defeat Ford in the February 2025 provincial election and, later, her resignation as leader of the Ontario Liberals, Crombie said she took time to contemplate her next career move.

Having considered a step into the private sector and “after a lot of reflection,” Crombie told INsauga.com this week she ultimately decided that it was in public service, as mayor of Mississauga, where she could contribute most.

She said that’s where her passion lies, “that’s where my heart is.

“I think it’s where I can have the most impact for the people of Mississauga,” continued Crombie, who pointed to rising crime rates, affordable housing (particularly for seniors) and what she sees as unnecessary tax increases in the city as being among matters that most concern her.

The former mayor, who recently became a first-time grandmother, told INsauga.com family also played a role in her decision to remain close to home following two years in provincial politics.

9 candidates in total will battle it out to be mayor

To date, nine candidates for mayor of Mississauga are in the race. Frank Fang, Fadi Naami, David Shaw, Mike Matulewicz and Amjad Jilani round out the field of candidates — in addition to Parrish, Crombie, Tedjo and Damerla — officially entered as of Friday.

Shaw ran in both the 2024 mayoral byelection and the 2022 municipal election (for mayor) while Matulewicz and Fang were also among the 20 candidates to run in the city’s mayoral byelection just over two years ago. Fang also competed for the Ward 9 council seat in the 2022 municipal election.

Candidate nominations opened May 1 and continue untl Aug. 21 at 2 p.m.

For more information on who’s running, how to become a candidate and the election in general, visit the city’s election page online.


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