New LRT line named after Hazel McCallion the same day she turns 101

The province made the announcement on McCallion’s 101st birthday, that the new Hurontario Light Rail Transit line will be named after Mississauga’s longest-serving mayor.

Thestar.com
Feb. 15, 2022
Ashleigh-Rae Thomas

It’s quite the birthday gift, even for Mississauga’s longest-serving mayor who has schools named in her honour.

The province has announced that the new Hurontario Light Rail Transit line will be named after former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion.

Premier Doug Ford spoke about the new 18 kilometre “Hazel McCallion Line” at the Cooksville GO station Monday morning.

The announcement, which falls on McCallion’s 101st birthday, was also attended by the area’s MPP Kaleed Rasheed, minister of transportation Caroline Mulroney, and Mississauga’s current mayor Bonnie Crombie.

“Hazel, also known as Hurricane Hazel, is a great leader, and inspiration to all of us. We owe a great deal of gratitude for her decades of public service to the residents of this great city and the province of Ontario,” Rasheed said.

“No one that has had more of an impact on the city than then Hazel has,” Ford said.

“If you know Mississauga, you know that Hazel's fingerprints have touched every corner of our city. You set the benchmark for longevity in politics while inspiring so many women leaders including myself to put their names on the ballot,” said Crombie.

The birthday girl herself thanked the premier for the honour. “When the premier phoned me and told me he was thinking of naming a line after me, I couldn't believe it. I've had many things named after me. This one is really unusual and unique.”

Construction on the line began in 2020 and is expected to wrap up in 2024. The 18 kilometres of rapid transit starts in Port Credit in Mississauga, up Hurontario Street, ending at Steeles Avenue in Brampton.

It will link to stations like the Brampton Gateway Terminal, Square One GO Bus Terminal, and Port Credit and Cooksville GO Stations.

“When it's complete, it will connect over 32 million people a year to Mississauga and beyond,” Crombie said of the line.

McCallion also commented that the LRT only runs up until Steeles Avenue, but said she hoped it would one day continue through Brampton.

Along with being one of Canada’s longest serving mayors, McCallion oversaw Mississauga growing into the sixth largest city in Canada.

”The LRT is going to be such an asset to the city. So, on with the Hazel McCallion line,” said McCallion.