Mississauga South

The riding of Mississauga-South contains some of the city's oldest neighbourhoods.
But beneath the serenity of a lake view and the rich tradition and history of communities such as Port Credit, Clarkson and posh Lorne Park, residents in this riding have some concerns that are sure to turn into hot-button issues leading up to the Oct. 14 federal election.
The riding's population of 110,930 makes it the smallest of the city's five ridings. That population has slightly declined slightly, 1.8 per cent, from 2001 to 2006. Nearly 24 per cent of residents are of a visible minority not as high as some of the other ridings but long-time residents of neighbourhoods such as Lakeview and Orchard Heights say their areas are very multicultural.
The riding is bordered on two sides by water Lake Ontario to the south and Etobicoke Creek on the east and contained by The Queensway to the north and Winston Churchill Blvd. on the west.
Mississauga South has been a liberal stronghold since 1993, when Liberal Paul Szabo beat out then-incumbent Tory Don Blenkarn, who had held the seat since the riding was formed in 1979.
Critics believe the riding was ripe for the picking in 1993 due to the high number of Progressive Conservative voters turning to the emerging Reform Party.
In the last federal election in 2006, Mississauga South was one of the GTA ridings separated by the fewest votes. Szabo won by a slim margin of 4.1 per cent over Tory Phil Green.
With a long stretch of Lake Ontario along its southern border, residents of Mississauga South are concerned about waterfront development and intensification along the shoreline. In previous elections, the Lakeview Generating Station was a hot-button issue, but this past July the province decided not to build a new power plant in the industrial area.
Residents of the area have recommended the site be used as part of an extensive $2 billion waterfront renewal project that will include parks and recreation facilities on the 200-hectare site.
This past summer, VIVA (Village Inspired Vision Alliance), a group made up of community leaders from a variety of organizations, including the Town of Port Credit Association and the Mississauga South Historical Society, presented a 40-page report titled "Port Credit: An Urban Village for the 21st Century: A model community for the world."
The report detailed what is needed to make the community an ideal "urban village," including:

•   acquiring as many waterfront properties as possible and increasing public ownership;
• commemorating the Native Peoples and honouring the presence of the Mississaugas, along with highlighting the rich history from the time of the first European traders through to the fishing, log driving and stone hooking at the mouth of the Credit River;
• reducing Lakeshore Rd. from the Toronto border to Oakville from four to three lanes. The centre lane would be reversible (eastbound traffic in the morning/westbound in the evening) and the fourth lane used for a physically-separated two-way bike lane;
• maximizing sidewalk widths for pedestrians throughout Port Credit and creating a "pedestrian precinct" in the area of Lakeshore and Port St., where walkers and cyclists take priority over vehicular traffic.

Residents also will be asking riding candidates if they can deliver more federal support for social services and infrastructure. The City of Mississauga estimates its infrastructure deficit will reach $1.5 billion over the next 20 years.


Mississauga-Streetsville

Mississauga-Streetsville is one of the many "vote-rich" ridings in Ontario with a population that outranks most of the larger urban centres in Canada.
With a population of 131,000, a 10 per cent increase since 2001, Mississauga-Streetsville is just a few thousand people short of matching the entire population of Prince Edward Island.
In fact, if it were its own community, the riding would rank 23rd among the top 100 urban centres in the country, ahead of such cities as Guelph, Kingston, Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
A large part of the riding's residemts, close to 40 per cent, are visible minorities, mostly from Southeast Asia and China.
The median income in the riding is $86,282 and most of the people are employed in the manufacturing sector. The majority of the people, 87 per cent, own their own home.
In addition, more than 30 per cent of the people in Mississauga-Streetsville, have a university education.
Until Wajid Khan crossed the floor of the House of Commons to sit as a Conservative in January 2007, the seat had been occupied by a Liberal since 1993.
Bob Horner won the Mississauga West riding for the Conservatives in 1984 and 1988. But the Liberals regained control in 1993 and have won the riding in the last five votes.
Khan won in 2004 and again in 2006, when he defeated Conservative Raminder Gill by almost 6,000 votes. During his second term as a sitting Liberal, Khan was also serving as a consultant to Stephen Harper and the Conservatives on matters dealing with the Middle East and Afghanistan.
He was given an ultimatum by Liberal leader Stephane Dion to choose his political loyalties. Khan chose the Tories.
Khan is running for the Conservatives in this election. He's up against Bonnie Crombie of the Liberals, Otto Casanova of the Green Party, Keith Pinto of the New Democratic Party and Independent Viktor Spanovic.

Mississauga-Erindale

An enclave of middle class families and upscale neighbourhoods, Mississauga-Erindale is a growing community.
With a population of 143,361 and having grown 19.1 per cent from 2001, the residents in this area are mainly young families, seniors and visible minorities, with significant East Indian and Chinese communities. The average family income is $82,619, and the unemployment rate is 6.7 per cent.
The boundaries of this riding are Ninth Line to the west, Mavis Rd. to the east, Dundas St., the Credit River and The Queensway E. to the south and Britannia Rd. W., Erin Mills Pkwy. and Eglinton Ave. W. to the north.
The riding was created in 2003 from the former ridings of Mississauga West and Mississauga Centre.  Since its creation, the riding has elected Liberal MPs including Carolyn Parrish from 2004-06 and Omar Alghabra after that.
Alghabra received almost 45 per cent of the votes won the last federal election in 2006 while Conservative candidate ran second, Bob Dechert claiming a little over 39 per cent of the votes.

Mississauga East-Cooksville

The Mississauga East-Cooksville riding is a predominantly residential area that's ethnically diverse. The average family income is $71,098.
According to the 2006 census, the immigrant population is about 61 per cent, with large numbers of Indian and Chinese communities. Only 37 per cent of the population listed English as their mother tongue. Its population is a city on its own, with a whopping 126,642 people living there, according to 2006 census figures.
Most people are employed in factories and the unemployment is 7.8 per cent. Approximately 40 per cent of the dwellings are rented in this riding.
Since 1988, the riding has been held by Liberal Albina Guarnieri. In the 2006 federal election, Guarnieri received 51 per cent of the vote.
The riding was created in 2003 from parts of the former Mississauga Centre and Mississauga East ridings.
Its boundaries are The Queensway to the south, Hwy. 403, Central Pkwy. E. and Burnhamthorpe Rd. E. to the north, Etobicoke Creek to the east and Mavis Rd. to the west.



Mississauga-Brampton South

The Mississauga-Brampton South riding is among the most rapidly growing ridings in the GTA.
With a population of 136,470, up 20 per cent since 2001, Mississauga-Brampton South is the fourth largest riding in Peel.
The average family income here is $91,869, while unemployment is at 6.4 per cent.
Most people are employed in the manufacturing, retail and service sectors, including automotive and aviation technology, and transportation, storage and business services.
The majority of the people 81 per cent own their own home, while more than 28 per cent of the people have a university education.
According to the 2006 census, 57 per cent of the residents are immigrants and almost 23 per cent give their origin as Indian.
The riding is bordered by Dixie Rd., Hwy. 401, Eglinton Ave. E. and Etobicoke Creek in the east and Mississauga Rd., Hwy. 401 and Terry Fox Way in the west.
It stretches from Burnhamthorpe Rd. E., Central Pkwy. E. and Hwy. 403 in the south to Steeles Ave. and the Mississauga city limits to the north.
With 85,068 people on the electors list, the riding was created in 2004.
Since its inception year, the seat has always been occupied by Liberal incumbent Navdeep Bains.
In 2004, Bains won the riding with 57 per cent of the votes and more than twice the number of ballots of his nearest opponent, Parvinder Sandhu of the Conservatives.
In 2006, the Liberal MP was victorious once again. This time, winning by 54 per cent over Tory candidate Arnjeet Sangha.
Major issues for this riding include jobs and the economic slowdown, immigration concerns, traffic congestion and road infrastructure maintenance.


Bramalea-Gore-Malton

In a nutshell, Bramalea-Gore-Malton is big, growing fast and ethnically diverse.
Based on 2006 Census data, the riding's population is almost 153,000, and it's increased by 27.4 per cent in just five years. In fact, it actually has the largest population of all six Mississauga ridings and it's bigger than most by a healthy margin.
Calling the riding ethnically diverse might be a bit of an understatement. About 64 per cent of riding residents identify themselves as visible minorities, with the largest group being South Asian.
It has one of the most expansive South Asian populations of all the ridings in Canada, a large percentage of whom are Sikh. About a third of riding's residents speak a language other than English.
Poverty is an issue in the riding with 6.9 per cent of residents being unemployed. Joblessness and the slowing economy will be of particular worry to residents in the riding that's dotted with factories.
Still, the median household income is $66,778 and about 80 per cent of families own their own home.
In 2003, the riding boundary was redistributed and had its name switched from Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale to Bramalea-Gore-Malton. The riding encapsulates the Bramalea and Malton communities.
It borders northeast Mississauga at Hwy. 401 and continues southwest along Hwy. 401 to Dixie Rd., northwest to Bovaird Dr., northeast to Torbram Rd. and northwest to the Brampton border.
During the previous federal election, many pundits predicted the Tories would make in-roads in the riding and perhaps even snatch a seat away from the Liberals. These hypotheticals would never come to pass, with incumbent Gurbax Malhi strolling to an easy victory.
He captured 25,349 votes or 50.7 per cent of the total votes cast in the riding. The next closest was Conservative candidate John Sprovieri who took 16,310 votes, or 32.6 per cent, while the NDP's Cesar Martello received 6,400 votes, or 12.8 per cent. Green Party candidate Ernst Braendli won 1,721 votes while Marxist-Leninist Frank Chilelli captured 233.
Malhi has represented the area since 1993.
Violence, and specifically gun violence, is a hot-button topic in the riding as is immigration. With Pearson International Airport close by, noise and the environment should also make it onto voter's radar.
The population boom may fuel concerns about access to proper health care.