Former Mississauga mayor and current Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie says she is considering a political comeback at the municipal level after a new poll showed she would retake the mayor’s seat if an election were held today.
Crombie, who led Mississauga from 2014 to 2024 before stepping down to pursue the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, told Global News she is keeping her options open.
“All options are on the table as I reflect on my next path and where I can have the most impact,” Crombie said.
Her comments come after a Liaison Strategies poll, conducted October 22–23, found that 38% of Mississauga voters would support Crombie in a head-to-head mayoral race against current Mayor Carolyn Parrish, who polled at 34%.
The poll surveyed 800 Mississauga residents and carries a margin of error of ±3.46%, 19 times out of 20. The next municipal election is scheduled for October 2026.
The results mark a sharp turnaround for Crombie, who faced strong public criticism following her move to provincial politics. In a September INsauga.com reader poll, 75% of respondents said they would not vote for her again if she ran for mayor.
Crombie resigned as Liberal leader last month after a poor performance in the 2025 Ontario election, where the Liberals finished third and she failed to win a seat in her home riding of Mississauga East–Cooksville.
Mayor Parrish, who succeeded Crombie following her departure for Queen’s Park, has already confirmed her intention to seek re-election.
Political analyst David Valentin, principal at Liaison Strategies, noted that Crombie would not be the first provincial leader to stage a successful comeback at the local level. “We’ve seen a recent pattern — Steven Del Duca in Vaughan and Andrea Horwath in Hamilton both became mayors after unsuccessful provincial runs,” Valentin said.
The Liaison poll also revealed that Parrish’s approval rating sits at 45%, the second-lowest among the 10 Ontario mayors surveyed.
When asked about top local concerns, Mississauga residents identified crime (29%) as their biggest issue, followed by affordable housing (18%) and traffic congestion (13%).
If Crombie decides to run, her return could set up one of the most closely watched municipal races in Ontario — pitting two experienced and outspoken mayors against each other in a city still navigating post-growth challenges, housing affordability, and public safety concerns.