Two parks might get new names in Mississauga, mayor suggests

Two established parks in Mississauga might be on the verge of trading names — in a way — under an idea floated last week by Mayor Carolyn Parrish.

Parrish told councillors at last week’s city council meeting she’s pushing for Max Ward Park, located steps south of Toronto Pearson Airport on Matheson Boulevard East in Mississauga, to be renamed in honour of the city’s significant Filipino population.

The name Max Ward Park would then be given to what is currently Danville Park, located to the slight northwest and just west of Canada’s biggest and busiest airport.

Such a plan would work out well, said the mayor, who noted it would appropriately attach the Max Ward name — he was an aviation entrepreneur who founded Wardair Ltd. airlines in 1952 — to a park in Mississauga known for its airplane viewing platform.

Aviation enthusiasts and others regularly gather at Danville Park, located on Danville Road a few blocks from Pearson, to watch the planes take off and land.

The entrance to Danville Park, just west of Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga.

Parrish said she’s trying to track down the family of Max Ward (1921-2020) to set her plan in motion.

“I have a Filipino group that would really love to have (Max Ward Park) named after them,” the mayor continued. “And we have Danville Park, which is named after a street, and it’s the highest location in Mississauga, and that’s the observation point for watching the airplanes. I thought having that named after Mr. Ward would be far more appropriate and then we could name the other park after the Filipino group in our city, which is large, and they’d like a park named after them.”

Wardair Ltd., later Wardair Canada, was founded in 1952 and at one point was the third-largest airline in Canada. It ceased operations in 1989, when it became part of the new Canadian Airlines at the time. Canadian Airlines then merged with Air Canada in 2001.

Map shows proximity of Max Ward Park to both Danville Park and Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga.