Protecting small businesses & transit service dominate Mississauga—Streetsville race

In an effort to provide voters with the information they need to know about incumbents and new candidates this election, The Pointer will be looking at Peel’s 12 ridings and how candidates in Ontario’s four big parties plan to help their future constituents.

Its bucolic turn of the century vibe is why Mississauga—Streetsville is called the ‘Village in the City.’

Rows of historical buildings where locals and tourists spend weekends and summer evenings fill up during the warmer months. Patrons shop inside quaint boutiques, dine in area restaurants or catch up for a sun-soaked pint of beer. 

Much of the neighbourhood offers an escape back to a different time.

Residents and business owners are fiercely loyal to their sliver of heaven in the middle of one of Canada’s biggest cities.

But the provincial riding of Mississauga—Streetsville is also much more than the particular historic area that shares its name, there are neighbourhoods of vastly diverse residents, mostly low-rise single detached homes and children playing in local parks and cul-de-sacs.

The family feel of Streetsville is impossible to miss.

It’s the suburban dream for its 118,305 residents, and a riding with unique needs. Its elected provincial representatives understand, if you don’t deliver for Streetsville, the job might not last long. 

Hazel McCallion, who was mayor of Streetsville before winning the role for Mississauga, learned in the 1960s, when she first won elected office as deputy reeve of the village, that the residents had no time for anyone who didn’t put their hamlet first.

Veteran city councillor George Carlson has managed to represent Streetsville for more than two decades (he recently announced he will not seek reelection in October). He too learned early on that residents and the area’s small business owners expected their way of life to be looked after by those they sent to represent them in government.

The boundary lines for the provincial riding were redrawn in 2007 created from parts of the old Brampton West-Mississauga and Mississauga West ridings. Liberal MPP Bob Delaney held onto the riding from 2007 to 2018. 

After making an insensitive remark about being proud that the Liberals tripled the deficit because they could afford the spending, which rubbed many struggling Streetsville residents and business owners the wrong way, Delaney lost in a landslide to PC candidate Nina Tangri four years ago.  

Like the rest of the city, Streetsville is home to many immigrant families, and just over half its residents (61,245) as of the 2016 Census identified themselves as a visible minority. 

The streetscape along Queen Street and Mississauga Road make residents feel like they’re in a bygone era.

(City of Mississauga)

Throughout the pandemic the riding that hosts so many local businesses struggled, the usually full parking lots were empty and many neighbourhood favourites closed their doors for good.

The businesses bring tourism and millions of spillover dollars into the local economy. They are an essential source of employment to many of the residents in Mississauga—Streetsville.

Geographically the riding is located on the northwestern corner of Mississauga making the main mode of transportation for residents their beloved vehicles. In 2016, less than 10,000 people regularly commuted using public transportation. 

But there is an appetite for change.

MiWay and GO Transit systems need more frequent buses and trains to ease commuting pressure faced by many residents in the somewhat isolated area.

The commitment of a fully funded Milton two-way all-day GO line to Union Station would benefit the riding, with three stations within its borders.

According to a Mississauga press release, the Milton corridor is the third busiest line in the GO network and over seven million passengers travelled through it in 2019. Better service would create an alternative for residents commuting both inside Mississauga and out of the city.

Tangri, the incumbent, is set on promoting herself as a small business advocate and describes her efforts through social media and along the campaign trail. She finished off her second session as the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, promoting economic boosting practices and pushing for further funding to small businesses.

Previously, Nina Tangri ran in the 2002 federal election for Mississauga Centre.

(Twitter) 

“I made it my mission to make this riding the best place to live, to do business and of course to raise a family,” she says in a video posted to her Twitter account.

Her website states prior to entering politics, Tangri was a small business owner herself.

In a promotional video, Tangri boasts about the goals she and Doug Ford have accomplished for her constituents, which included the investment into the Mississauga Hospital, the future construction of Highway 413, creating long-term care beds and implementing a zero dollar transfer between MiWay buses and GO Transit. 

On May 12, GreenPAC, the local chapter of the non-profit environmental group, organized an all-candidates debate, which Tangri did not attend. With few specifics on what she’s hoping to accomplish in the riding, constituents can expect her to stay close to party lines. 

Over the past four years the PCs focused on economics and small businesses, especially throughout the pandemic. Speaking in the legislature, she didn’t speak of her riding very often, but did successfully pass two pieces of legislation, Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act (2021) and most recently Bill 84, Fewer Fees, Better Services Act (2022) which took away the tolls on Highways 412 and 418 in Durham Region and refunded license plate stickers. 

Tangri’s closest competitor is Jill Promoli, a first time Ontario Liberal candidate fighting for healthcare, small businesses and more paid sick days.

Promoli has a substantial following on Twitter after becoming a strong advocate for the flu shot after her two-year-old son Jude passed away from the virus in 2016. She then created For Jude, For Everyone, an organization promoting all vaccinations, but especially the flu shot. 

Promoli grew up in Port Elgin before earning a bachelor's degree in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University and settling down in Mississauga with her husband.

According to her website, she spent years coaching t-ball and volunteering with a local women’s council. Both her children attend public schools in the city. 

“I’m running because my life and the lives of my loved ones and neighbours have felt the impact of decisions made at Queen’s Park, and we’ll continue to feel them in the years ahead,” a statement on her website reads. 

Jill Promoli was one of the first Liberal candidates to be nominated by the Party in this election.

(Twitter)

As an owner of a lifestyle and photography business, Promoli wants to assist companies in keeping their doors open post-pandemic and allocate more funding and resources to help them grow. 

Along with vaccinations, healthcare in general is a file she is passionate about and hopes to get rid of the surgical backlogs plaguing many Ontario hospitals, including the two in Mississauga.

Nicholas Rabba is the Ontario NDP candidate and he is attempting to capitalize on his own experiences owning a business and the younger demographic in the riding. In a video posted to Twitter, Rabba asks different constituents who the MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville is and none seem to be able to answer. 

“I want to be a voice for this community, I want to be someone you actually know,” he says in the video.   

Nicholas Rabba is trying to promote himself on social media by putting out fun but promotional videos.

(Twitter)

His website describes him as a writer and artist who is going to advocate for the community’s fair share of resources if elected. 

While little details are known about the specifics of Rabba’s advocacy plans for the riding, he sticks close to party lines, promoting NDP promises for improved mental health and dental care resources, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and taxing the “ultra-rich and corporations.” 

He’s also mentioned how he will advocate for Black owned businesses and racism and hate within the riding.

Very little can be found online about Reead Rahamut, the Ontario Green candidate who doesn’t seem to be active on social media besides a LinkedIn profile. 

His website on the Green Party website explains he’s been a resident of Mississauga for nearly two decades and has over 25 years of experience working in accounting and financial fields. 

His LinkedIn profile explains he currently is the director of Run Accounting and previously was the chief financial officer for the National Health Insurance Board and financial controller for T&T Electricity Commission.

Reead Ramahut is in the financial industry and hopes to bring that experience to Queen’s Park.

(Twitter) 

Rahamut holds a masters of business administration from the University of Derby in England. 

The Party website describes him as, “a passionate advocate for improved mental healthcare,” and active in his community volunteering for non-profit organizations and committees.

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Twitter: @taasha__15

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