MISSISSAUGA — Mayor Carolyn Parrish is calling the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion light-rail transit project “an incredible mess,” as frustration mounts over years of delays, mounting disruption, and uncertainty about when the line will finally be completed.
Originally slated to open in fall 2024, the 22-kilometre LRT was expected to connect Port Credit in Mississauga’s south end to downtown Brampton. Now, five years into construction, Metrolinx has yet to provide a firm completion date. Officials have only said that once work nears completion and testing begins, they will be in a position to give a timeline.
At city council this week, Parrish described the state of Hurontario Street, where construction has dragged on, as chaotic and demoralizing for businesses and residents. “Once in a while I drive down Highway 10 just to torture myself,” she said. “You see cars clustered and think work is happening, but no one’s there. Then you see long stretches torn up with no activity, and in one spot dozens of workers crammed onto a single task. It is the most incompetent thing to watch, and people have to drive by it every day. Stores along there are feeling the pinch … this has really been a mess.”
Mississauga’s city manager, Geoff Wright, echoed the frustration, likening the project to “an operation where everyone has walked away, leaving us on the table waiting to be closed up.” He said the uncertainty makes it difficult for the city to plan transit operations or budget for future costs. Wright has reached out to Metrolinx’s CEO to demand answers and press for a clear plan.
Local businesses are bearing the brunt of the disruption. Ward 5 Coun. Natalie Hart said hotels and shops are struggling, with one hotel reporting revenue losses of more than 50 per cent. She criticized Metrolinx for using shoddy hoarding along construction sites compared with higher standards on Toronto projects like the Ontario Line. “It has a very large impact on businesses,” she said. “You can’t expect BIAs to spend on beautification when right next to it is a dilapidated plywood fence.”
Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko added that the LRT is one of the top complaints he hears from residents, citing blown tires in construction zones and widespread economic hardship for small businesses.
Despite the turmoil, the line is expected to eventually include more than 20 stops, including several near Square One. The province approved an extension into downtown Brampton and the reintroduction of a “downtown loop” in Mississauga in 2024, which will add more stops.
Unofficial estimates now suggest the Hazel McCallion Line may not open until 2026 or later. Until then, Parrish said, Mississauga will keep pressing Metrolinx for accountability: “If we had it to do over again … I wouldn’t have voted for it. I think this has been an incredible mess.”