How do Mississauga’s mayoral candidates compare on election issues?

Damerla is promising to hold property tax increases to the rate of inflation or below for the next two years. Low-income seniors would be allowed to defer property tax payments.

Damerla says she would be tougher on property standards calls and that if residents repeatedly break the rules, they’ll be forced to pay higher re-inspection fees.

She would also offer a “Cleaner Neighbourhood Grant” of $1,000 that residents or community groups could apply for to beautify their neighbourhoods. Residents could also get a break on their stormwater charge by installing rain barrels or similar home improvements.

Damerla says she would “elevate and expand” the Art Gallery of Mississauga, but adds enhancing public spaces like that would require public-private partnerships.

At this time, Damerla has not released a costed platform.

Dasko is promising to hold property tax increases below the rate of inflation.

He also says he will audit all city departments in a bid to cut back on costs and “fight for efficiency” at the Region of Peel (which provides a range of services in Mississauga). He called recent tax and water rate increases from the region “out-of-control” in a news release.

Dasko also says he would reduce fees for seniors' programs and facility admissions, but didn't say by how much.

Dasko has not released a costed platform.

Carolyn Parrish said under her leadership, the City of Mississauga will help those struggling with the increasing cost of living by constraining its budget – although she didn't set hard targets. Instead, she said she would control spending by holding quarterly budget consultations within each ward.

Parrish said she's committed to holding city and regional budgets to “close to the rate of inflation” and said infrastructure will be maintained "at the standards we have come to expect in our city."

Parrish's campaign has not released a fully-costed budget.

Tedjo is promising to freeze residential property taxes until 2026, which he will pay for by drawing some $10 million from a reserve fund (he said 80 per cent of the fund would remain intact.) Tedjo said he would also implement a vacant home tax, which he suggests could net some $20 million for the city.

Seniors earning less than $60,000 would be eligible for a rebate of $420.

Small businesses would also see their property taxes slashed by 15 per cent. 

Tedjo said his campaign has sought advice from financial experts who have worked with the City of Toronto and the provincial government.

Damerla's plan focuses on what she calls “smart growth.” She acknowledges the city needs to grow fast to address an acute housing shortage but warns if city hall gets it wrong, Mississauga will be “unlivable.”

She says she would waive development charges on purpose-built rental housing and would also allow modular construction as well as speed up building permit approvals.

Damerla says she would stop the proposed installation of bike lanes on Bloor Street.

She also says housing density should be prioritized along transit corridors, and that those new neighbourhoods should be walkable.

Damerla's housing plan doesn’t discuss multiplexes or infill housing, nor does it offer any suggestion about how the city might spend on affordable housing.

Dasko said Mississauga needs to ensure housing growth “fits” in local communities and that he opposes “one size fits all” upzoning.

Dasko touts his experience with the housing application process, saying he “knows how to work with the community and builders to get things done while preserving the character of communities.”

The Ontario government has mandated that Mississauga build 120,000 housing units in the next 10 years, according to the city's website. Dasko says housing development should be built along transit lines.

While his plan doesn’t set targets for how much housing should be built or say how much of that housing should be affordable, Dasko vows there will be robust public consultation for major projects and city-led construction. 

Parrish's platform stresses there’s a shortage of housing in Mississauga, which the candidate says has driven prices up and forced some 40,000 people (both owners and renters) to leave the city from 2016 to 2021. Parrish says Mississauga needs a “wide range of solutions,” especially if it wants to continue to attract new immigrants.

She said she supports “gentle infill,” will push to rezone vacant commercial land and will encourage the owners of “declining malls” to convert them into residential sites.

Parrish is also promising to create a panel of homebuilders to “review and speed up project approvals.”

Her platform mentions “increased property tax rebates” for seniors, but doesn’t say how much that rebate would be.

Tedjo says he will focus on building “missing middle” housing, which typically refers to building up low-rise housing developments in areas largely dominated by single-detached homes. He says he will also unlock “underutilized lands” for housing to be built on.

For example, Tedjo said the city should allow eight-storey residential buildings to be built on main streets where retail plazas currently stand, so long as a number of conditions are met.

Tedjo's plan would see the city offer developers a number of incentives to build rental apartments, and create a team to fast-track the construction of affordable housing. 

Tedjo also said he'd work with the provincial and federal governments and outlined a number of specifics about how he would do that. Tedjo said he's in favour of developing land controlled by those governments so long as at least 30 per cent of the future units built there are kept below market rates.

Damerla says she'd focus on building “vibrant public spaces” where people can connect, although those would be paid for with public-private partnerships.

Her campaign also courts drivers, stating: “People still need a car to get around in Mississauga.”

Damerla says she'd block any removal of car lanes if it would result in increased congestion. However, she also says it will be a priority to build a connected network of bike lanes and set up more “pedestrian-friendly streets” in downtown neighbourhoods.

Dasko's main livability promises focus on the road.

He's promising to reduce speed limits on residential side streets from 40 to 30 km/h.

He also says he'll crack down on street racing and pass a bylaw to ban “obnoxiously loud mufflers.”

Dasko also says he'll review the Bloor Street Integrated Project, which is set to add bike lanes to the main street by eliminating a car lane. However, the candidate doesn’t appear to be staunchly in favour or opposed to the potential outcome of the project.

“It is unlikely that any party in this discussion will get all they desire. It will require a compromise on both sides,” he said in a news release.

Parrish's campaign focuses on seniors and youth.

She said she's concerned seniors are being left isolated, and to combat that she'll offer free public transit and discounted programming at local recreation centres. The goal: “getting them out and about for better physical and mental health.”

On the youth front, Parrish said she'll search for corporate donations to help open community centres serving youth, like the Malton Youth Hub Jonathan David Centre.

She also wants to add a second facility in the city centre to expand Celebration Square's programming, while also renovating the Living Arts Centre and building an art gallery (although Parrish says this would require a private-sector contribution).

Tedjo has two bigger ticket items when it comes to improving livability, with the first aimed at young families.

Tedjo says he would bolster a free outdoor learning program at city parks for kids aged six to 12 in July and August by spending some $300,000 more on it. The Play in the Park program would become full-day and expand to 13 more spaces.

He's also vowing to make drop-in swim and skating free at city facilities for those under 12.

Tedjo says he'll also set up a $10-million fund that business and ratepayer groups can access to better their community.

Damerla's public safety plan also focuses on auto theft, saying she would like to see a $10,000 Crime Stoppers reward for tips that lead to thieves being convicted for stealing vehicles.

She also suggests auto theft should be treated as organized crime and vows to lobby for tighter bail conditions.  

Damerla also wants to see more judges appointed – something municipalities don’t control – to speed up the time it takes to get verdicts.

Dasko says residents are worried about an increase in crime, including the number of car thefts, break-ins and gun violence.

As mayor, Dasko said he would form a crime prevention committee.

He says he would also support neighbourhood watch programs.

Like others, Dasko says he would pressure the federal government to review the bail system and to do more to block stolen cars from being shipped from Canadian ports.

Parrish says public safety is a “growing concern” in the city, driven by a surge in car thefts and associated break-ins and assaults.

The candidate suggests more police officers may be hired, saying she will “closely monitor” the ratio of police officers to residents.

Parrish says she'll also press the federal government to get tougher on car theft. She wants to see more screening at ports (from which stolen cars are often shipped overseas), and also tougher bail conditions and harsher penalties for those convicted. 

Tedjo says he will set up a “municipal task force” to fight auto thefts.

Apart from that, he says he'll work with other levels of government to deal with crime.

Damerla has an ambitious transit platform called “Fast-Track Mississauga” – albeit one that doesn't include a price tag or a timeline of when the projects would be built.

Damerla's vision includes three more light rail lines: on Dundas, east of Hurontario to Kipling Station; on Eglinton, from Hurontario to Renforth (and eventually the airport); and on Derry Road, from Hurontario to Malton GO.

She also wants to see MiWay add more service across the city and add a new route to service the University of Toronto at Mississauga.

Damerla also says she would “fight” to bring a subway to Mississauga if it gets extended as far as Sherway Gardens (this is not in Toronto’s transit expansion plans at this time). She also says she'll call on the province to speed up electrification of the Lakeshore West GO train service, and would like to see another GO stop east of Port Credit.

Dasko says Mississauga needs to build a “long-needed subway line” along Dundas to connect Kipling Station and the Hurontario LRT line, but did not provide an estimated price tag or timeline.

He is also calling for the TTC's Lake Shore streetcar to extend service from Long Branch into Mississauga to reach the Lakeview Village development (a condo and townhouse community being built just southwest of Dixie Road.)

As for what's already in place, Dasko said he will audit the system to see what lines are used most and, with the input of riders, boost the capacity as needed.

Parrish calls public transit the “backbone of any progressive and affordable city.” However, there are no big transit promises in her platform.

She says an east-west connector to the Hurontario LRT (set to open in September) will be “essential,” as is all day GO Transit service to Milton, but suggests she’ll look to bigger governments to pay for that: “Funding from senior levels of government will be a priority.”

The candidate is also vowing to factor cycling in when considering future road redesign. “Serious consultations must be had to evaluate the need for speed humps and cycling curbs for the safety of those who choose cycling as their mode of transportation,” she says.

Tedjo's transit plan, “Move Mississauga,” focuses on building four new bus rapid transit lines that would create a loop around the city. Those lines would be built on: Derry, from Meadowvale Town Centre to Pearson airport; Erin Mills, Dixie, and Lakeshore.

Tedjo didn’t put a pricetag on the project but said the city would increase frequency on the routes immediately after his election while also launching studies on how to best build out the lines. He said the city would turn to the province and federal government to pay for infrastructure improvement.

He says he would also push for a light rail line on Dundas that would connect the Hurontario LRT line and Kipling Station (the westernmost subway connection for the TTC).

Tedjo says he would also lobby higher levels of government for GO Transit and infrastructure improvements, including two-way, all-day service on the Milton line and work on setting up a rail link to Brampton and Caledon via the Orangeville Brampton Railway corridor.

Tedjo says 85 per cent of all trips in Mississauga are done by car (this fact is supported by Canadian census data), something that must change as the city’s population grows. “Our streets are already jammed during rush hour,” his website says.