The dream of an NFL team playing out of Mississauga is officially over, according to the city’s mayor. Mayor Carolyn Parrish confirmed today that any hopes of landing a National Football League franchise have been dashed, blaming the recent downturn in Canada-U.S. relations for the collapse of talks.
Although discussions were still in very early stages, the idea of a Toronto NFL team potentially playing its home games in Mississauga had been on Parrish’s radar earlier this year. She revealed in January that she had been approached by influential figures, including Larry Tanenbaum, Chair of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Paul Godfrey, former Toronto Sun president and former Blue Jays executive, both longtime advocates for bringing the NFL to Toronto.
Due to difficulties in securing stadium space in Toronto, attention had shifted west to Mississauga. Parrish had envisioned potential land where a major venue could be built, although she did not disclose any specific location.
However, escalating tensions between Canada and the United States, fueled by the imposition of tariffs and inflammatory comments from U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Canada should become the “51st state,” have cooled any progress. In a message to INsauga.com, Parrish bluntly declared the deal “dead,” adding that the political climate between the two countries was not conducive to such cross-border ventures at this time.
With the NFL dream now shelved, Parrish said the city is considering alternative plans for the land that had been loosely identified for a stadium.
While ambitions of an NFL team based in Toronto have been floated many times over the decades, the prospect has repeatedly failed to materialize. For Mississauga, it seems that chapter is now officially closed.