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Nearly 90,000 Mississauga jobs are tied directly to exports to the United States. That should make tariffs and trade uncertainty one of the most urgent economic issues facing City Hall.
Last week, Mayor Carolyn Parrish responded to the latest tariff threat by meeting with the Board of Trade, asking staff to examine options and saying Mississauga “stands ready.” The City has also applied for $1.5 million in federal funding to support trade diversification.
Those are reasonable steps, but they are not a strategy. Businesses are entitled to ask: what has actually happened — and where is the urgency?
That is one of the clearest contrasts in this election.
A Mayor should listen to business leaders, rely on professional staff and pursue every available dollar from senior governments. But consultation is supposed to lead to decisions. When tens of thousands of local jobs are exposed to a trade war, City Hall cannot simply study the problem and wait for someone else to solve it.
Experience has taught me that economic leadership means acting with urgency when circumstances require it.
Companies have choices in economic development
During the pandemic, I brought business leaders from key sectors together to hear directly about what they needed to survive, reopen and recover. I advocated for those measures with senior governments and fought for recovery funding. Mississauga’s economy rebounded, adding more than 6,700 net new jobs through new investment and business expansion.
More broadly, when I was Mayor, I did not sit back and wait for investment to find us. I went out and sold Mississauga. I worked across major sectors including life sciences, aerospace, technology and advanced manufacturing to attract and expand businesses, diversify our economy and create jobs.
Economic development is competitive. Companies have choices. A Mayor has to make the call, get on the plane, make the pitch and keep pushing until the investment lands.
That is the approach Mississauga needs now.
We cannot set U.S. tariffs or negotiate a trade agreement with Washington, but City Hall is far from powerless. The City controls hundreds of millions of dollars in purchasing. It controls how quickly local suppliers are paid, how efficiently new investment moves through approvals and how aggressively Mississauga competes for jobs. The Mayor also has a responsibility to make sure our city has a strong voice at Queen’s Park and in Ottawa.
Those are real powers, and we should be using them.
For businesses directly and materially affected by U.S. tariffs, I would allow an interest-free deferral of the City portion of qualifying commercial and industrial property taxes for a limited period. The purpose is simple: keep more cash inside businesses so they can make payroll and protect jobs.
I would also establish a 15-day payment standard for qualifying local small and medium-sized suppliers. Local businesses under cash-flow pressure should not have to finance City Hall.
And we should use the City’s purchasing power much more deliberately. Mississauga reported more than $730 million in procurement in 2024. I would make Buy Canadian and Buy Ontario principles permanent, create a Made-in-Mississauga procurement strategy and give qualified local firms a fair opportunity to compete for City contracts.
Mississauga should’ve been out front after tariff threat
Protecting existing jobs is only part of the challenge. Tariff disruption is forcing companies across North America to reconsider where they manufacture, assemble and distribute.
Mississauga should have been out front from the moment this threat emerged, aggressively pursuing that investment.
If a company is prepared to invest millions of dollars, retool an existing facility, move production to Canada or protect significant local jobs, it should not spend months bouncing around City Hall. My plan would give qualifying investments one senior City contact, an approvals roadmap within 10 business days and priority processing.
The same urgency should apply to Pearson Airport. Approximately 45% of Canada’s air cargo moves through Toronto Pearson, connecting businesses to roughly 200 destinations worldwide. At a moment when Canadian companies need to diversify beyond the United States, Pearson should be a centrepiece of Mississauga’s economic strategy — helping us attract investment and helping local companies reach new markets.
None of this works if the Mayor is absent from the tables where decisions are being made.
The current Mayor has missed important opportunities to advocate directly with senior governments and has not led a trade mission. I previously chaired Ontario’s Big City Mayors and worked directly with Premiers, Prime Ministers and governments of different political stripes.
Showing up matters
I know showing up matters. But showing up is only the beginning. You need a clear ask, you need to make the case and you need to keep pushing until something happens.
That is also why I decided to run for Mayor again.
When I was Mayor, I did not wait for investment to come to Mississauga. I worked directly with major employers and across sectors like life sciences, aerospace, technology and advanced manufacturing to attract new investment, expand businesses and create jobs. Together, we helped attract over $9 billion of investment into our City.
I am proud of the economy Mississauga built during my previous time in office, but I did not come back simply to talk about the past. I came back because I believe Mississauga needs more urgency now — on affordability, congestion, community safety and jobs.
The current approach too often seems to be to study and wait. It is heavy on talking points and light on action. My approach is to listen, decide and deliver.
Last week, the current Mayor said Mississauga “stands ready.”
With nearly 90,000 jobs tied directly to U.S. exports, standing ready is not enough.
Mississauga needs a plan. It needs leadership. And it is time to get moving.
– Bonnie Crombie served as Mayor, City Councillor and MP in Mississauga after a career in business