Your last last-minute voting guide to Mississauga's byelection | CBC News (2024)

John Rieti · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2024 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 10

• You can watch CBC's election night live special in the player above when polls close at 8 p.m. ET

Mississauga residents are heading to the polls today to pick a new mayor and Ward 5 councillor.

And if you're late to the party, CBC News is here to help as you decide who will get your vote.

You have a field of 20 candidates to choose from. You can find out who's running and what their key promises are here,

Four candidates in the running are either a current city councillor or a former councillor, who recently gave up their seat. They are: Dipika Damerla, Stephen Dasko, Alvin Tedjo and Carolyn Parrish, whose resignation triggered the byelection in Ward 5 that is also set for June 10 (more on that race below).

Those candidates have each won thousands of votes in their wards in recent elections, which establishes a base for them to build on — an obvious advantage in a relatively short campaign. All four have also performed well in polling. Given those factors, we've broken down their platforms in more detail at the link below.

It's worth noting many of the candidates' haven't presented a clear plan to pay for their ideas — including a pledge to bring an indoor Disneyland to Mississauga —so you'll want to review them with a critical eye.

OK, so what's at stake?

This byelection, triggered by Bonnie Crombie becoming the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, is happening as many in the city are grappling with affordability issues.

Reporter Clara Pasieka found out in late April that about eight per cent of residents now rely on food banks, while the price of housing has been climbing. The average one-bedroom unit now rents for more than $2,200 per month, according to Rentals.ca.

WATCH | One study found the rising cost of living stings most for single folks:

Then, there's something almost everyone in Mississauga can relate to: the struggle of getting around.

The election has seen candidates spar over bike lanesand present different visions for expanding public transit in the city.You can read about those transit plans in ourplatform breakdown.

The candidates'divide on the Bloor Street Redesign provided one of the most dramatic moments of the CBC Toronto debate with host David Common, which you can watch in full below. Note: You can use YouTube's chaptering function to scan through for an issue you might be interested in.

The politics at play

Several candidates criticized Parrish for adopting a frontrunner campaign strategy that has seen herskip almost all public debates, including CBC's, and make few media appearances until the final week of the election.

WATCH | Rivals take aim at Parrish's debate-free campaign:

Damerla has sought to paint the election as a two-candidate race, positioning herself as the only one who can defeat Parrish — something candidates like Tedjo have urged the public to reject.

As part of that push, Damerla launched ads accusing Parrish of planning to implement a land transfer tax. That's something Parrish wouldn't rule out, although she did fire back by saying Damerla wasoversimplifying a complex issue.You can read more on that here.

The only other notable tax plan has come from Tedjo, who has said he's open to implementing a vacant home tax to pay for a two-year property tax freeze.

Dasko, for his part, said in the CBC debate thathe would charge an infrastructure levy to developers help pay for future transit expansion, like a subway line along Dundasthat connects to the TTC's Kipling Station.

Almost every candidate in the running has promised to hold property tax rates under the inflation rate, keep them the same or lower them. But as policymakers will tell you, if you decrease tax revenue you'll need to look somewhere else for money to run your city.

Hello, Queen's Park

Whoever wins on June 10 will need the help of the provincial and federal governments to do all kinds of things, but especially buildtransit. That likely means they'll push for a new deal.

WATCH | What Mississauga needs from the province and feds, according to 3 candidates:

Toronto recently reached a deal with Queen's Park, so our city hall reporter Shawn Jeffords broke down what Mississauga might be looking for:

The next mayor will also have more power when it comes to city planning. You can read more about how they'll use those strong mayor powers — granted by Premier Doug Ford's government — here.

The province has given Mississauga a target of building 120,000 homes over the next decade, the city's website states.

Ward 5 also going to the polls

Voters who live in Ward 5 will choose between 15 candidates to be their next councillor, after Parrish stepped asideto launch her mayoral campaign.

Ward 5 includes Malton, where residents told CBC News they feel like they're being left behind as the rest of Mississauga booms.

WATCH | Malton residents on wanting their voices heard:

The area is also home to a lot of newcomers who can't vote. Remember: you must be a Canadian citizen over the age of 18 to cast a ballotin this election, even if you pay taxes here.

Will voter turnout improve?

Just over 21 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2022 election, a tally that's dismayed a number of the candidates.

So far, there are signs that may be changing. The City of Mississauga said Wednesday some 24,000 people have voted early in thisbyelection.

The winner of Monday's election will become just the third mayor of Mississauga since 1978.CBC News will have special election coverage on June 10, including a live results show. We'll publish more details about that in the coming days.

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