Olympic-sized swimming pool too costly for Mississauga to go it alone: councillors

While a number of Mississauga councillors have said they like the idea of the city getting its first Olympic-sized swimming pool, any efforts on that front seem to be stuck at the starting block.

City council floated the idea early this past summer and concluded that while a 50-metre pool in Mississauga is an appealing notion, the cost of building such a facility — specifically, the burden on taxpayers — is unappealing.

Still, councillors didn’t dismiss the idea entirely and agreed to study the matter further to see if other sources of funding — particularly the provincial government — might be available to help pay for such a large-scale project.

So far, it doesn’t look promising.

Ontario Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden wrote in a letter last week to Mayor Carolyn Parrish the sports ministry “does not provide funding for this type of request.”

He suggested the City of Mississauga consider applying to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for grant money to pay for a new feasibility study, if desired. The foundation provided $49,000 to the Mississauga Aquatic Club in 2020 for a similar study that looked into the possibility of building an Olympic-sized swimming pool, Lumsden added in his letter.

Olympic-sized pool would cost more than $150 million to build

When discussing the matter back in June, councillors indicated any such plan remains a long way down the road and would only come to fruition with significant funding help from the provincial government and/or partnerships formed with neighbouring municipalities or other entities.

An Olympic-sized pool would cost upwards of $150 million to build in addition to costs associated with purchasing the required three to five acres of land, city officials said earlier. And that’s if a suitable parcel of land could be found within the city’s borders.

Additionally, operating costs would be around $2 million a year, noted Ward 8 Coun. and Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney, who spoke strongly at the time against the city putting big money into an Olympic-sized pool — especially after having increased taxes earlier in 2025.

“If we could say that the province could fund this, and not the taxpayers of Mississauga, I’d be the first one to sign on,” Mahoney told his council colleagues in late June. “The general concept of a 50-metre pool and sports — I’ve been very clear on that, that I certainly do support that, but I wouldn’t support it unless the province was funding.”

Ward 8 Coun. and Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney, shown here at city council in June, likes the idea of Mississauga having an Olympic-sized swimming pool, but only if taxpayers don’t have to pay for it.

Plans to build a 50-metre pool as part of an aquatics centre in Mississauga were previously explored in 2009. At that time, Mississauga partnered with Oakville and Milton to get such a facility built in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, but funding concerns prevented the project from leaving the starting block.

Since then, the idea has resurfaced on several occasions in Mississauga, mostly as discussions that did not lead to anything concrete.

The most-recent discussion around the council table earlier this year was prompted by a motion from Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo to explore the feasibility of constructing a 50-metre swimming pool in the city to add to the number of 25-metre pools already in use. His motion also called for an effort to get the provincial government on board to help pay for such a facility.

“We’re not looking to expend additional dollars right now; we’re looking for partners” to help pay for an Olympic-sized pool that would greatly benefit both competitive and recreational swimmers in Mississauga, in addition to other groups, Tedjo said earlier.

Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo would like to see a 50-metre swimming pool built in Mississauga, but only if it can be done without burdening taxpayers. Some of the city’s community centres currently feature 25-metre pools.

Parrish said in June that finding partners to share the significant cost of a new Olympic-sized pool is a must. Otherwise, the idea will once again go nowhere.

She suggested speaking with neighbouring municipalities Etobicoke, Brampton and “Oakville and Milton again” before going any further “to see if there’s something we can do as a unit rather than taking this cost on ourselves.”

Mahoney said University of Toronto Mississauga might be a strong partner as well, if it’s willing.

“… they’ve got a campus, they’ve got a great facility there, they could add on a 50-metre pool that could service their student base and could service others,” he said.

Shortage of 50-metre pools in Ontario 

A recent report from the Aquatic Sport Council of Ontario identified a significant shortage of aquatic facilities in the province, particularly 50-metre swimming pools, compared to the growing population.

“Most indoor 50-metre pools in Ontario were constructed between 1970 and 2010, with only four built after 2000, according to a 2023 study by Aquatic Associates,” the council wrote in its report.

“This lack of infrastructure negatively affects community vibrancy by limiting options for learn-to-swim lessons, recreational aquatic activities, water-based rehabilitation programs, water-based sports and opportunities for local sport tourism.”

The council is urging the provincial government to put funding opportunities in place to help build regional recreational centres with larger pools.

The report noted a 50-metre pool, compared to a 25-metre pool, “can bring three times the programming for twice the pool size.”