Fewer candidates currently running in Mississauga municipal election compared to 2014

Mississauga currently has just three mayoral candidates and three uncontested council seats as the registration deadline to enter municipal elections in Ontario is now less than one week away.

In the race for mayor of Canada’s sixth largest city, incumbent Mayor Bonnie Crombie is currently set to face off against two other candidates, Kevin Johnston and Scott Chapman, according to the city’s election website.

In the city’s last municipal election in 2014 — the first without long-serving Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion in the race — there were 15 candidates seeking the mayor’s chair.

Both Johnston and Chapman ran for mayor in 2014 as well. Each pulled in less than one per cent of the vote that year.

Johnston is also known for being a website operator in Mississauga where he posts controversial content often aimed at the Islamic faith and the Muslim community. He was also charged with a “hate-motivated crime” in July 2017.

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Incumbent council candidates Karen Ras (Ward 2), Matt Mahoney (Ward 8), and Pat Saito (Ward 9), are currently uncontested ahead of the municipal election’s registration deadline, which is Friday, July 27 at 2 p.m.

In 2014, Ward 2 had seven candidates, Ward 8 had 11 candidates, and Ward 9 had six.

Overall, nine of the city’s 11 wards currently have fewer candidates than they did in 2014.

While it appears the race for mayor and those council seats are quieter than 2014, 10 candidates are currently looking to become Peel regional chair.

This election will mark the first time voters in Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon (the municipalities which make up Peel Region) will be able to vote for regional chair.

In 2016, the provincial government announced this change. Previously, the Peel regional chair had always been nominated by local council members.

A number of notable politicians have entered this first-ever general vote for regional chair.

Among them are former Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown, former Liberal MPP Bob Delaney, and Mississauga city councillors Ron Starr and Nando Iannicca.

Voters head to the polls for municipal elections in Ontario on October 22.