WARMINGTON: Mississauga mayor’s election race a neck-and-neck dead heat
A new poll shows Mayor Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie, recently spied on by Progressive Conservatives, are stuck in a virtual tie
New polling from Liaison Strategies indicates Carolyn Parrish and Bonnie Crombie are tied in the race to become Mississauga's next mayor ahead of the October municipal election. Both candidates received 35 percent of the vote among decided and leaning voters, while current City Councillors Dipika Damerla and Alvin Tedjo trailed behind in third and fourth place, respectively.
Among all voters, Parrish and Crombie were each at 26 percent, Damerla at 13 percent and Tedjo at nine percent. The remaining voters marked their response as "undecided."
Mississaugans expressed a pessimistic outlook on the city's future, with 46 percent saying the city is moving in the wrong direction, compared to 32 percent who believed it was moving in the right direction. The initial spark of controversy came when Parrish and Crombie engaged in an X feud over AI data centres. Parrish expressed concerns about losing tax revenue as Mississauga City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data centre development.
Crombie responded by criticizing Parrish for not voting in the unanimous decision, saying the city is "drifting" under her leadership. Parrish countered that the chair of a democratically conducted meeting is mandated not to influence the debate outcome, and that Crombie "abandoned our city."
Liaison principal David Valentin noted that Mississaugans are focused on a broad range of issues, including affordability, taxes, housing, crime, and traffic. The race appears to be unstable, with a vulnerable incumbent, a familiar former mayor, and a significant number of undecided voters. While Parrish is not out of contention, she faces challenges to maintain her lead.
Crombie remains competitive, and Damerla has meaningful support. The negative mood among residents makes the next phase of the race less predictable. Liaison surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Mississauga residents from August 11 to August 12, 2026, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
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