Mississauga is pressing the province again to let it take control of regional roads this summer, after Ontario's housing minister confirmed in writing that the transfer will be pushed back a year.
In a letter dated Jan. 28 to Rob Flack, the minister of municipal affairs and housing, and copied to the city's MPPs, Mayor Carolyn Parrish asked the province to keep the 2026 transfer date. City officials have said the one-year delay would cost Mississauga $30 million.
What's new
Early in January, Parrish said she was hopeful the province might reverse course after a brief conversation with Flack. But in a Jan. 13 letter to Peel Region Chair Nando Iannicca, the minister said the province is keeping its plan to delay the handover by 12 months.
Parrish's latest letter, sent on behalf of council, offers a way around the impasse: the province could provide money to cover Caledon's costs, allowing the transfer to go ahead on July 1 as first planned.
The delay is meant to give Caledon time to prepare for the expense. Parrish wrote that "Caledon does not have the financial capacity to assume these roads and maintain them," and said she understands Caledon Mayor Annette Groves supports the delay. According to Parrish's letter, Groves estimates the roads would cost Caledon $35 million to $40 million a year.
Parrish wrote that she does not dispute those figures, but argued Mississauga property taxpayers have carried most of the burden for decades. She estimated the city pays roughly $25 million to $30 million a year to subsidize regional roads in Caledon.
The current arrangement is patently unfair.
— Mayor Carolyn Parrish, letter to the minister of municipal affairs and housing
Background
The roads are among several Peel Region services that Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are set to take over under the Peel Transition Implementation Act. On Dec. 19, the province pushed the roads handover from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027, and Mississauga has been asking it to reconsider since. Brampton has sided with Mississauga on keeping the original date.
Regional roads in Mississauga that would come under city control include Airport Road, Derry Road, Britannia Road, Dixie Road, Cawthra Road, Finch Avenue, Mavis Road, Winston Churchill Boulevard, The Queensway and Erin Mills Parkway. The city has said owning every road within its borders would make maintenance simpler for residents and save taxpayers money.
