​​​​​​​​​​Hazel McCallion, former mayor of Mississauga and one of Canada’s longest serving mayors, passed away on January 29, 2023 at the age of 101.

McCallion served as the mayor of Mississauga for 12 consecutive terms from 1978 to 2014, retiring at the age of 93. Nicknamed “Hurricane Hazel”, she was known for her confident political style and leadership, which saw the transformation of Mississauga from a small-town community into the sixth largest city in Canada.

Born in 1921, in a small town in Quebec, she was the youngest of five children. She met her husband, Sam McCallion in 1945 and married in 1951. The couple had three children and were married for 46 years before his passing in 1997.

McCallion was a trailblazer for women in politics and in the workforce and began her political career as chair of Streetsville’s planning board and president of the local Chamber of Commerce. She then went on to become mayor of Streetsville and later served one term as a Mississauga councillor before running for mayor.

Under McCallion’s leadership, Mississauga transformed from an amalgamation of small towns and farmlands into a developed city and urban centre.

Upon her retirement from politics at the age of 93, she went on to become a special advisor at the University of Toronto, Mississauga campus, chancellor of Sheridan College and a Greater Toronto Airport Authority board member. ​