Mississauga is a Southern Ontario city on the shores of Lake Ontario. Located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. The city has a population of 713,443 as of the Canada 2011 Census, and is Canada’s sixth-most populous municipality.[1]
Developed as a suburb of Toronto, Mississauga’s growth is attributed to its proximity to that city.[2] The city is debt-free and has not borrowed money since 1978. Mississauga has been the beneficiary of federal infrastructure funding but may have to borrow money to build new capital projects in 2012.[3] Residents of the city are called Mississaugans.
Attractions
In 2006, with the help of Project for Public Spaces,[12] the city started hosting “My Mississauga” summer festivities at its civic square.[13] Mississauga planned over 60 free events to bring more people to the city square. The square was transformed and included a movable stage, a snack bar, extra seating, and sports and gaming facilities (basketball nets, hockey arena, chess and checker boards) including a skate park. Some of the events included Senior’s day on Tuesday, Family day on Wednesday, Vintage car Thursdays, with the main events being the Canada Day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, and Beachfest. The civic square has completed its restructuring project as of 2011, using federal stimulus money, which features a permanent stage, a larger ice rink, media screens, and a permanent restaurant. Mississauga also boasts one of the largest shopping malls in Canada called Square One Shopping Centre, which is surrounded by several bars and restaurants, as well as City Hall, the Central Library, and Playdium. Mississauga also hosts a cultural festival named Carassauga each year to celebrate the diverse population. Mississauga is the home to Mosaic, the largest South Asian multi-disciplinary arts festival in North America. Now in its sixth year Mosaic is a completely free festival that attracts 50,000 people in three days.
Sports and recreation
Mississauga has been the home of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League since 2007, when the team moved from Toronto. It was previously home to the Mississauga Icedogs from 1999–2007, before they moved to St. Catharines and became the Niagara IceDogs. The Hershey Centre, the city’s main sports venue, was opened in 1999 for the arrival of the Icedogs, and is where the St. Michael’s Majors currently play. Other hockey teams include the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (who play at Iceland Mississauga), the Mississauga Chargers of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (who play at Port Credit Arena), and the many teams in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, Mississauga Hockey League, and Mississauga Girls Hockey League that play in the city’s 13 arenas. In addition, there is a roller hockey team, the Mississauga Rattlers of the Great Lakes Inline Junior “A” Roller Hockey League.
The city also has teams for box lacrosse (Mississauga Tomahawks of the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League), cricket (Mississauga Ramblers of the Toronto and District Cricket League, Mississauga Titans of the Etobicoke District Cricket League), and Canadian football. The Mississauga Football League (MFL) is a youth football program that is for players aged 7–17, founded in 1971. The city also has other amateur football teams in Ontario leagues: the Mississauga Warriors of the Ontario Varsity Football League and the Mississauga Demons of the Ontario Australian Football League. Mississauga’s rugby players are now served by the Mississauga Blues at the youth level though many still play for the more established clubs in neighbouring cities.
Recreational clubs include the Mississauga Figure Skating Club, Mississauga Synchronized Swimming Association,[14] North Mississauga Soccer Club, Mississauga Falcons Soccer Club,[15] Mississauga Canoe Club, Mississauga Scrabble Club, Don Rowing Club at Port Credit, and the Mississauga Aquatic Club. There are over 481 parks and woodlands areas in Mississauga. Mississauga is home to many of the finest indoor playgrounds in Ontario including Playdium,Kids Time Family Fun Center, KidSports indoor playground, and Laser Quest Center. There are over 26 major indoor playgrounds in the city of Mississauga.[16]
Media
Mississauga is primarily served by media based in Toronto, with markets in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that cover most of the news in the GTA. Examples of this being the majority of radio stations transmitting from the nearby CN Tower in Toronto. However, Mississauga also has The Mississauga News, a regional newspaper that is published three days a week in print and daily online, and the Sunday Times, a community newspaper for the South Asian community that is published weekly in print and also available online, as well as MississaugaLife Magazine, a monthly general interest magazine. The city also has one specialty radio station: FM 91.9 CFRE, the campus radio station of the University of Toronto Mississauga broadcasting at very low power.
The following national cable television stations also broadcast from Mississauga. For more area stations, see Toronto television stations.
- Rogers Television, community channel
- The Shopping Channel, broadcasts nationally from Mississauga
- The Weather Network, broadcast nationally from Mississauga 1998-2005
- Bite TV, Canada’s first interactive television station.
- RawalTV, Canada’s first 24/7 Canadian/South Asian television channel.
Education
Mississauga is the home to the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM/Erindale College), one of three intercity campuses of the University of Toronto. UTM has an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. It is growing at a rate of about 1,000 students per year since 2002, following a major expansion.
Sheridan College has announced the construction of a new $46 million dollar facility that will open in Mississauga in 2011. The school will have two main concentrations: business education and programs to accelerate the movement of new Canadians into the workforce. The 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2). campus will be located on an 8.5-acre (34,000 m2) parcel of land in City Centre just north of the Living Arts Centre. The campus is expected to accommodate 1,700 students upon completion of phase one of construction in Fall 2011. Phase two of construction after 2011 is expected to increase capacity by 3,740 students to a combined total of 5,000; it will also include construction of a 10-level municipal parking garage.[26][27][28][29]
Mississauga is served by the Peel District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Together there are more than 150 schools in this city to fulfill the needs of its large youth population.
Mississauga also has many prominent programs which push students to show their full potential including:
- French immersion schools in multiple locations across the city such as Applewood Heights Secondary School and Clarkson Secondary School.
- Extended French Program at St. Thomas More School, Green Glade Senior Public School, Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School and St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School
- Regional Arts Program at Queen Elizabeth Senior Public School and Cawthra Park Secondary School and Iona Catholic Secondary School
- International Business and Technology Program at Allan A. Martin Senior Public School and Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School
- International Baccalaureate Program at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School and Glenforest Secondary School.
- Sci Tech Program at Tomken Road Middle School and Port Credit Secondary School.
- Regional Enhanced Program at The Woodlands School , Glenforest Secondary School, and Lorne Park Secondary School.
Sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississauga