‘Very fast’ response to province looks like it’ll save Mississauga $15M, mayor says

A quick response in opposing a provincial government plan to delay the transfer of responsibility for regional roads from Peel Region to the city by a full year likely saved Mississauga $15 million, the mayor says.

The Ontario government’s Peel Transition Implementation Act (Bill 45, 2025) stipulates Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon will each assume responsibility for several key services — regional roads and associated stormwater infrastructure among them — previously delivered by the region.

The transfer of regional roads from Peel to the three municipalities was initially to take effect July 1, 2026. However, in a move City of Mississauga officials say caught them by surprise, the province revealed on Dec. 19 it was pushing back the implementation date by one year, to July 2027.

Anticipating millions of dollars in annual savings starting this year under the new plan, Mississauga in short order sent a strongly worded response to the province opposing the delay.

In a letter to Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack dated Dec. 22, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she was “disappointed” in the province’s decision. She added the city is “fully confident” it will deliver “more efficient operations and maintenance — key considerations in this legislation.”

Mayor Carolyn Parrish says saving $15 million this year is crucial for Mississauga taxpayers.

The mayor said the city was kept in the dark regarding the province’s desire to amend the deadline.

“Neither our council nor staff were consulted on this proposed and significant change,” Parrish wrote in the letter, adding “we request this recent decision be reconsidered.”

It appears Mississauga might have gotten its way with word earlier this week the minister of municipal affairs and housing has relented.

Parrish told councillors and senior city staff at Wednesday’s general committee meeting she also approached Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown shortly after learning of the province’s intention in December.

She said Brown also responded to the province and in a subsequent conversation with the minister, Parrish was told the original transfer date for regional roads would remain.

Mayor “optimistic” original transfer date will stick

“It wasn’t a hard promise, but … he didn’t see the point of doing all of this and then changing it if the two largest municipalities (in Peel) were objecting,” Parrish said of her discussion with Flack. “So I’m optimistic that we’ll stick with the original date, which is important” because it means millions of dollars in savings in 2026.

Mississauga’s mayor noted the city will save $15 million this year under the plan to take over responsibility for regional roads in July.

And that’s “a lot of money,” Parrish continued, adding “right now we’re going to be pinching every penny that we can on behalf of our taxpayers and what goes on at the region we don’t have as much control over, but when we’re asked to send letters like this, we do it instantly.

“And this is one letter that went out very fast.”

Regional roads in Mississauga to be transferred to the city include Airport Road, Derry Road, Britannia Road, Dixie Road, Cawthra Road, Finch Avenue, Mavis Road, Winston Churchill Boulevard, The Queensway and Erin Mills Parkway.

“With the transition of regional roads, the city will now maintain all roads within its boundaries. This change will create clarity for residents and streamline the maintenance of these roadways, saving taxpayers money,” the city said earlier.

It’s not full independence, but it’ll do for now 

While Bill 45 is not the full-fledged political independence they’d been seeking for some three decades (and had briefly been granted by the Ontario government in 2023 before being pulled back), Mississauga officials have said the new Peel plan that sees them assume responsibility for several key services will help them better serve the city’s growing population.

The revamped Peel plan comes as the Ontario government seeks to streamline municipal operations and improve service delivery, and build more housing, city officials said earlier.

The new plan, while well-received by Mississauga, can be described as a consolation prize, of sorts, for Peel’s biggest sibling.

After three decades of pushing for a complete political split of Peel’s three member municipalities, Mississauga officials seemed to have gotten their wish for independence when Ontario Premier Doug Ford told them so in mid-2023.

However, in an unexpected turn of events in December 2023, Ford and the province backtracked on their promise. Had that plan stood, Peel would have split up on Jan. 1, 2025.