RECAP: Chow and Ford congratulate Parrish following Mississauga win

Parrish voted the next mayor of Mississauga Voters have elected frontrunner Carolyn Parrish as the next mayor of Mississauga, beating out 20 candidates vying for the role.

Mississauga residents have elected just their third mayor since 1978.

Carolyn Parrish has emerged victorious with more than 43,000 votes in the mayoral byelection. City councillor Alvin Tedjo finished second with approximately 34,000 votes.

Here is a look back at the highlights.

9:30 p.m.

Former Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has shown up at Carolyn Parrish’s victory party to personally congratulate her. Crombie says she is “ecstatic” Parrish has won and is confident she will be a “formidable mayor” and a strong voice for Mississauga.

9:20 p.m.

Parrish is addressing supporters following her win in Mississauga’s mayoral election. She says the region (Peel) is going to be “stronger now because you will have three mayors that will actually get along” and will work together to push Queen’s Park for their “fair share of funding.”

9:15 p.m.

Premier Doug Ford has taken to social media to congratulate Parrish on her election. Ford says he is looking forward to working with Parrish in building a “stronger Mississauga and a stronger Ontario.” In a separate post, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also congatulated Parrish, noting that she looks forward to working together "on the issues that affect our region."

9:10 p.m.

Carolyn Parrish now has a more than 8,000 vote lead with all but a handful of polls reporting and has won Mississauga's mayoral byelection.

9 p.m.

CTV political analyst Scott Reid says that early numbers pointing towards an election turnout of more than 40 per cent in Mississauga is a “big surprise,” given that only 22 per cent of voters cast ballots in the last Mississauga election.

“All the frontrunners had organized get out the vote efforts and they were working them hard, especially as we got closer to the finish line and everyone realized this was going to be a hell of a lot closer than expected,” he tells CP24.

8:50 p.m.

City councillor Dipika Damerla has formally conceded the Mississauga mayoral race. Damerla is also congratulating Parrish, who she says is likely to be elected mayor.

“Carolyn, I look forward to working with you,” she says.

8:40 p.m.

Parrish has widened her lead and has an approximately 5,000 vote cushion on Alvin Tedjo with 83 per cent of polls now reporting.

8:25 p.m.

More than 70 per cent of polls are now reporting and Parrish remains ahead. She has more than 26,000 votes. Alvin Tedjo remains in second with approximately 23,000 votes.

8:15 p.m.

Carolyn Parrish is maintaining her lead with about 30 per cent of polls reporting. She has 7,397 votes. Alvin Tedjo is trailing just behind her with 6,854 votes.

8:10 p.m.

The first batch of results have come in and Carolyn Parrish is off to an early lead but only a small percentage of polls are reporting. Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla are both trailing by a few hundred votes.

8 p.m.

The polls have closed in Mississauga’s mayoral byelection

7:50 p.m.

Mississauga city councillor and mayoral candidate Alvin Tedjo says he is hoping that there will be a strong voter turnout after just 22 per cent of those eligible case a vote in the last municipal election. Tedjo says he has heard reports of lines outside some polling stations and is reminding those waiting to vote that they will be given a ballot so long as they are in line when the polls close.

“This is a good thing. Let’s blow those records (from 2022) and get everybody to the polls,” he tells CP24.

7:40 p.m.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says that he has been pleased to see a focus on public safety and auto theft during the campaign and is looking forward to working closely with whoever is elected on those files.

“I appreciate the fact that the tone of this campaign is one that has put issues that I care about first,” he says.

7:15 p.m.

CP24 is checking in with the leading mayoral candidates ahead of the polls closing at 8 p.m. Stephen Dakso, a current city councillor, tells CP24 that he is excited about what could be but he says that his “nerves are running rampant” given the stakes.

“It feels like the dawn of a new day for Mississauga,” he says.

7 p.m.

The polls in Mississauga will close in one hour at 8 p.m.  There are 117 polling locations across the city.

5 p.m.

CP24’s Andrew Brennan is speaking with voters outside a polling station in Port Credit about what issues were top of mind as they cast their ballots. A number of voters cited public safety concerns while at least three others spoke about gridlock amid a significant amount of development in Mississauga.

“Honestly it is nightmare to travel from Port Credit to any place honestly,” one of the voters said. “I hope the new mayor will look into that.”

3:30 p.m.

CP24 will be delivering a live special of the Mississauga election as soon as the polls close at 8 p.m. Here is how you can watch it.

1 p.m.

More than 24,000 Mississauga residents took advantage of advance voting in the lead up to election day. City officials have said that the first of two weekends of advance voting saw a 42 per cent increase in turnout compared to 2022.

11:40 a.m.

Mayoral candidate and current city councillor Stephen Dasko is spending election day making some last-minute get-out-the-vote calls from his campaign office. He told CTV News Toronto that he believes this is the “most important election we will ever have in the city.”

“We want to set our course and this is the opportunity to do it right now,” he said, listing taxation, housing and public safety as some of the top issues. “Nobody should be looking out their front window to see if their car is still in the driveway when they are going to bed.”

11 a.m.

Former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie cast her ballot at Riverside Public School in Port Credit shortly after 11 a.m. Speaking with reporters outside the polling station, Crombie said that this byelection will provide residents with an opportunity to choose a mayor that “will kick off the next 50 years of Mississauga’s history” after just four mayors held the role during Mississauga’s first 50 years, largely due to Hazel McAllion’s 36-year tenure.

“My message today is to encourage everyone to get out and vote because in municipal elections the turnout is notoriously low. It was less than 22 per cent in the last general election so today the message is please get out and vote,” she said.

10:45 a.m.

Mayoral candidate Carolyn Parrish cast her ballot at Huron Park Recreation Centre just before 11 a.m. Parrish, a former city councillor and Member of Parliament, had a sizeable in a number of early polls but in recent weeks her advantage appears to have shrunk, with at least one recent poll putting her just one point ahead of Dipika Damerla among decided voters. Speaking with CP24 on Monday morning, Parrish said that housing is looming large for her as residents head to the polls.

“We have to get at it right away,” she said. “We are losing the 18 to 25 year olds, they are leaving town and we have to hang on to them. Housing is absolutely essential.”

10 a.m.

The polls have officially opened across Mississauga as the city gets set to elect a new mayor, following the resignation of Bonnie Crombie earlier this year. The winner of the byelection will have the opportunity to serve as Mississauga’s mayor until the next civic election, scheduled for Oct, 2026.