Mississauga-Brampton South: A populous, growing and diverse riding

Mississauga-Brampton South is a populous, growing and diverse riding. 

According to the 2006 Census, the riding grew by nearly 20% between 2001 and 2006. With new developments built the last few years east of McLaughlin Road in Mississauga, the riding has continued to grow, but at a slower pace. New warehouse and office developments towards Pearson Airport to the east of the riding, in the far north-west corner of the riding and in nearby Mississauga-Streetsville have helped fuel the growth.

The riding is relatively wealthy, with a median family income of more than $70,000. There are only a few large apartment buildings in the riding. More than 75% of the population live in owner-occupied single-family, semi-detached or row homes although some homes include multiple families or multi-generational family units. Just a couple of farms remind residents that only 20-25 years ago, this area was largely agricultural.

While there are local bus services, especially along Hurontario St., and the area is served by two GO Transit lines, cars dominate life in this part of the 905 suburbs. Residents drive to the supermarket, to the Heartland Mall, to libraries, community centres, hockey rinks and soccer fields.

There is no real centre to the riding. Traffic flows almost every direction at rush hour. The heart of the riding is entirely commercial. Virtually all of the riding in Mississauga south of the 407, east of Hurontario and north of Matheson Blvd is commercial, as is the eastern arm of the riding north of Eastgate Parkway and Eglinton Ave. So, there are really five distinct residential areas in the riding:

Levi Creek and Old Meadowvale in the northwest corner of the riding in Mississauga and the new developments along McLaughlin Rd.

Neighborhoods along Fletcher’s Creek in Brampton north of the 407 and their neighbors east of Hurontario living beside Peel Village and Brampton Golf Courses.

Neighborhoods south of the Heartland Mall on both sides of McLaughlin Rd.

A mix of townhouses and large single-family houses around the Grand Highland Golf Course and Frank McKechnie Community Centre between Hurontario and Highway 403.

Relatively older neighborhoods east of Square One, north of Burnhamthorpe Rd.

A few of the high rise buildings that surround the Square One mall at the centre of Mississauga are in the riding.

These neighborhoods do not shop, eat, play or send their children to school in the same places. Neighborhoods in the east enjoy close connections and share community services with the neighborhoods immediately south of them. Residents in the west of the riding will often shop, play and go to school in Mississauga-Streetsville. A large Sikh community north of the 407 in Brampton is split between this riding and Brampton-West.

In 2006, 60% of the riding were categorized as visible minorites, many of whom are South Asian. But that is only part of the picture. During the World Cup, many different flags are displayed. There is a substantial Portugese community, Italians and East Europeans, and immigrants from the Caribbean. The large percentage of (relatively affluent) immigrants in the community could lead to some electoral volatility.

The large commercial areas in and around the riding might suggest that jobs may not be as big of an issue here than elsewhere in the GTA. Many of the immigrants in the riding enjoy a measure of financial stability that enabled them to move their families into these single-family homes.

The environment may be a more salient concern to some. The Credit River and its tributaries snake through the riding, and residents enjoy many walking paths and parklands. Like other residents of Peel Region, there is curbside collection of recycling and compost. But few would cut back on their driving habits that rely heavily on large minivans and SUVs.