The strategy to present a financial plan free of the election stunts and gimmicks that frame so many municipal campaigns, and clear pathways to reach Mississauga\u2019s housing and transportation needs, while detailing how she would work with police leaders to improve community safety, appears to be gaining traction.<\/p>\n
A new poll by Mainstreet Research, released this week, has Crombie firmly in the lead, ahead of Monday\u2019s vote. A survey of 942 adults in Mississauga conducted October 17 and 18 found 33.6 percent would vote for Crombie to be the next mayor. Alvin Tedjo has inched past Carolyn Parrish into second, at 28.4 percent, Parrish, the incumbent, has fallen to 26.2 percent and Dipika Damerla has sunk to just 4.5 percent support among the survey respondents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having already helped steer the Hurontario LRT toward its completion as mayor for nine years, Crombie\u2019s signature project to move Mississauga forward is a game-changing subway extension of Toronto\u2019s Bloor line into the heart of her city.<\/p>\n
She has also released a detailed 100-day plan, to establish what her early months would look like, highlighting departmental spending reductions that would help reduce the tax rate for the 2027 bill. She is also committing to hire an independent auditor general, who will help bring property taxes back to the rate of inflation after what she describes as two years of unfair taxation under Parrish, when the compounded property tax increase was about 15 percent.<\/p>\n
Her plan to make City Hall spending more efficient will also make it more effective and she has outlined expansion of GO service as a key part of her mandate to shift significant transportation spending to Queen\u2019s Park which will be required to support its own investment in the Hurontario LRT line, while Crombie is committing to better service efficiencies for MiWay operations.<\/p>\n
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Bonnie Crombie has released her 100-day plan, which includes steps to get the City Hall budget back under control, and her transportation plan for Mississauga which centres on the city\u2019s first subway line from Kipling Station through Sherway Gardens and into the heart of the city. (Benjamin Steeves\/The Pointer)<\/p>\n
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\u201cWithin my first 100 days, I will meet with the province of Ontario, Metrolinx, Toronto and Toronto Transit Commission TTC to advance a joint business case,\u201d for the subway, Crombie said on October 20.<\/p>\n
She would also meet with federal representatives and bring a motion to council to establish Mississauga\u2019s role in planning and funding the work.<\/p>\n
The proposed business case, she said, would examine routes, stations, where ridership needs to be serviced and whether elevated sections could deliver the project much faster at a lower price.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to have that study underway within the first year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Crombie has been explicit that the subway is a long-term project that potentially represents the largest investment opportunity in Mississauga\u2019s history, with massive commercial potential along the entire corridor, right into the centre of the city, and possibly beyond. The entire project would be a transportation and commercial game-changer, she has told The Pointer, with the potential to be the single biggest magnet for employment creation Mississauga has ever seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet’s get the business case done. Let’s get the engineering reports done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tedjo questioned her subway plan during the Policorner mayoral debate two weeks ago.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBonnie, I love the fact that you’re all about subways now. I love trains. I think this is a great thing for us to do,\u201d he said, but questioned the wisdom of pursuing such a large-scale higher-order transit project before the LRT has even been completed, and asked why the idea wasn\u2019t pursued decades ago.<\/p>\n Crombie responded.<\/p>\n \u201cNow is the time, because now we have the density to support a subway. Thirty years ago, we did not.\u201d<\/p>\n During the same debate, Crombie pointed to immediate measures to tackle worsening congestion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need better signal coordination, fewer bottlenecks, and better coordination of construction,\u201d she said. More express buses should be planned in coordination with the opening of the LRT.<\/p>\n \u201cThis work will go alongside getting the Hazel McCallion line operating, improving bus services\u201d and advocating for expanded GO service.<\/p>\n She wants the failed Mississauga Transitway, one of Hazel McCallion\u2019s few bad decisions, to eventually become an LRT and identified Derry Road as another possible LRT corridor.<\/p>\n She also said private bus-on-demand services should also be looked at to provide options where it\u2019s difficult and costly for MiWay to operate, and where last-kilometre service to GO connections and express buses might make sense.<\/p>\n On the Lakeshore line, she wants electrification to make additional GO stops possible, with her goal to build a larger network rather than relying on a single GO project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crombie has been sharply critical of the delays affecting the Hazel McCallion LRT<\/a> line since Parrish became mayor and says she will get residents and business owners a clear explanation of what has caused them.<\/p>\n During her transit and 100-day-plan announcements, she said businesses directly affected by the construction of the Hurontario LRT deserve answers and compensation where they have been directly impacted, something Ward 7 Councillor Dipika Damerla<\/a>, who is also running for mayor, has aggressively advocated for since the start of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crombie would advocate for penalties to stakeholders responsible for construction delays, if appropriate. \u201cThere doesn’t seem to be any oversight or explanation on why the delay,\u201d she said at a debate two weeks ago, calling for stronger oversight of transit projects, as the city is projected to experience huge growth over the next decade.<\/p>\n Crombie has said an independent auditor general will also be used to provide effective accountability when taxpayer dollars are used for infrastructure projects, similar to what Damerla has championed this year, only to be shot down by Parrish and Tedjo, who did not support her motion for an independent auditor general to keep spending and timelines in check.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s time that we have an auditor general in place,\u201d to provide a line-by-line examination of spending, Crombie said during the Policorner debate.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be spending money on a needs basis, not on a want basis.\u201d<\/p>\n Crombie has also committed to challenging every department in the city to find additional savings wherever possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Muslim Network TV mayoral debate on October 13<\/a>, she said staffing levels and departmental budgets need to be scrutinized.<\/p>\n \u201cI would cut staffing levels at the city. I think they’re too high in many departments. I would also challenge departments to cut back, cut back each and every department. I haven’t reached the number between 3 percent and 5 percent that they need to cut back, and that will obviously impact some of the staffing levels.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n During the Muslim Network TV mayoral debate, Bonnie Crombie shared her vision for an independent auditor general for Mississauga, and has said several times it shocked her when council including Carolyn Parrish and Alvin Tedjo voted against the motion championed by Dipika Damerla. (Benjamin Steeves\/The Pointer)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere were programs we had in place when I was mayor,\u201d Crombie said during the debate organized by the Muslim community (which Parrish did not attend), that offered residents a range of supports. Now, she is proposing responsible tax relief to seniors and others who would qualify for means-tested programs to provide tax relief. She said similar ideas and new ones will be implemented to offer tax support to only those who need it, without crippling the municipality\u2019s finances and badly burdening younger families.\u00a0<\/p>\n She has tied her tax plan to scrapping Parrish\u2019s $2.5 billion downtown redevelopment plan<\/a>, stating taxpayers do not need to be saddled with massive vanity projects so a politician can leave their costly legacy behind.<\/p>\n \u201cI would also not move forward with the downtown plan. I think we always need to continue to invest in public transit. I’m telling you that I would go line-by-line on the budget, and I would look to see where there could be savings,\u201d she said during the October 13 debate.<\/p>\n She said the goal is to bring property taxes back to the rate of inflation. A \u201clean\u201d program she has recently outlined will deliver $5 million to $7 million a year in savings by delivering projects and services in a much more cost effective way.<\/p>\n \u201cI will tell you that I will deliver tax rates that are affordable at the rate of inflation as I always have when I was mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n She has also argued that permanently freezing taxes as Tedjo has claimed he would do for some seniors, would simply move the financial pressure to younger families and other seniors, while choking off revenues residents rely on for key services.<\/p>\n \u201cJob one will be to put forward a budget, a new budget, that comes in at the rate of inflation for our residents,\u201d she said at a campaign platform announcement earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cJob one is to reduce taxes for the people of Mississauga, and yes, that means hiring an auditor general.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will have a report card each year and we will check off the accomplishments,\u201d she said during the Policorner debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the Muslim Network TV debate, Crombie said Mississauga needs to protect local jobs as businesses face tariff uncertainty. Improving the ability to do business within the city would go hand-in-hand with helping residents afford their everyday lives, she said, stressing the importance of fighting to keep jobs within Mississauga\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now we face a tariff threat and we need to protect local jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Her proposed response includes lower business taxes, faster payment of city suppliers and a concierge service for businesses big and small intended to speed up permits.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a concierge service to get permits within 90 days or less to any new company that will want to locate in Mississauga and bring their business here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She would also reduce development charges if the savings ultimately translate into lower housing costs.<\/p>\n Crombie has maintained that reducing the cost of development should encourage more construction and that competition could help push savings through to buyers.<\/p>\n She has argued that the development environment itself needs to make construction more viable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bonnie Crombie has put forward details of her campaign platform over the last two weeks. (Benjamin Steeves\/The Pointer)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Crombie has been asked by opponents, particularly Tedjo, why she left the mayor\u2019s job. She has said running provincially was an effort to give all cities and towns, including Mississauga, what they need, and that she learned a lot that will help her be an even better mayor. She wants residents to look at her track record of getting things done during her time at City Hall, and vows to bring what she has learned back to local government.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mainstreet poll suggests her messaging has been effective.<\/p>\n Election day is October 26.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Email: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories\u00a0to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial\u00a0HERE<\/a>. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Benjamin Steeves – Local Journalism Initiative reporter Oct 21, 2026 – Mississauga Bonnie Crombie believes the efficiencies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194297],"tags":[49,48,55405],"class_list":["post-941689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mississauga","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mississauga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6ad974f34795a.jpg\")
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