Much-loved Hurricane Hazel McCallion dead at 101

30 Jan 2023

Toronto Sun

Published Jan 29, 2023 • Last updated 53 minutes ago • 3 minute read

24 Comments

Hazel McCallion, Revera's Chief Elder Officer, at Revera in Mississauga for a celebration of her 99th Birthday. Mississauga, Ont., on Feb. 12, 2020. Photo by Nick Kozak /Postmedia Network

“Hurricane” Hazel McCallion was lauded as a driving political force in the GTA following her death Sunday at the age of 101.

Family friend Premier Doug Ford announced the death of McCallion, who served as Mississauga’s mayor for 36 years and was also a businesswoman, an athlete, a wife and a mother.

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“She led the transformation of Mississauga into one of Canada’s largest cities. Hazel’s mark on her community can be found in the many places and organizations that bear her name, including the Hazel McCallion Line,” wrote Ford.

“There isn’t a single person who met Hazel who didn’t leave in awe of her force of personality. I count myself incredibly lucky to have called Hazel my friend over these past many years.

File photo of Hazel McCallion taking to the ice. Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

McCallion, who would have turned 102 on Feb. 14, was given the nickname “Hurricane Hazel” for her political style.

Born in 1921 in a small town on Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula, she left for Montreal at 16 to finish high school and then went on to secretarial school before landing her first job at the Louis Rolland Paper Co. in 1940.

While in Montreal, McCallion, at 5-foot-3, turned her love of hockey into a professional pursuit and played for two seasons.

She later became an office manager at the engineering firm Canadian Kellogg and was relocated to the company’s headquarters in Toronto in 1943. In 1945, McCallion met her husband, Sam McCallion. They married in 1951 and moved to Streetsville and had three children.

Sam McCallion was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and died in 1997.

Hazel McCallion was unstoppable. She worked hard, fought for her community, and inspired countless others with her decades of tireless and selfless service. I’m going to miss you, my friend, and I’ll always cherish the chats we had – and the wisdom you shared – over the years. pic.twitter.com/J4unPSPw7e

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 29, 2023

McCallion was elected mayor of Mississauga in 1978, envisioning it as a livable city and not just a suburb of Toronto.

Under McCallion, Mississauga grew from an area of small towns and farmland into the sixth-largest city in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor John Tory were among the many who tweeted their condolences.

“Today, we grieve the loss of Mississauga’s matriarch, Hazel McCallion, a fierce and passionate leader who touched the lives of so many,” said Bonnie Crombie, Mississauga’s current mayor. “She lived a life of service before self — everything she did was for betterment of our city. My deepest condolences to the McCallion family,” Crombie wrote

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By 1966, she was chair of Streetsville’s planning board and president of the local Chamber of Commerce as she was concerned about the development in the town.

It was at this point there was the amalgamation of the nearby villages of Clarkson, Lakeview, Cooksville, Erindale, Sheridan, Dixie, Meadowvale and Malton into Mississauga.

Streetsville and Port Credit didn’t join and McCallion became mayor of Streetsville in 1969.

But as Mississauga expanded the city became emblematic of urban sprawl – low-density, car-dependent residential development.

Hazel McCallion poses for a portrait in September 1979. (Handout/Toronto Sun) Photo by Handout /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion begins her day with a read of Toronto's daily newspapers. (Juan Fanzio/Toronto Sun) Photo by Juan Fanzio /Toronto Sun

Ontario Premier Mike Harris tours the Glaxo-Wellcome plant with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. (Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun) Photo by Veronica Henri /Toronto Sun

Blue, Don Cherry's faithful sidekick, shows some love for Don's grandson Del Cherry, 3, at a press conference to launch the OHL's newest franchise, the Mississauga Icedogs, at the team's complex in Mississauga. Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion was on hand for the announcement. (Greig Reekie/Toronto Sun) Photo by Greig Reekie /Toronto Sun

Carlos Rogers of the Toronto Raptors and Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion ham it up at a hospital Charity fundraiser in the mid-1990s. (Bill Sandford/Toronto Sun) Photo by Bill Sandford /Toronto Sun

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson gives Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion a hockey sweater for all her work on behalf of women's hockey over the years, ahead of the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, in Ottawa, March 28, 2013. (Julie Oliver/Ottawa Citizen) Photo by Julie Oliver /Ottawa Citizen

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is presented the Order of Canada by Gov. General Michaelle Jean at Government House in Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Nov. 18, 2005. (Pat McGrath/Ottawa Citizen) Photo by Pat McGrath /Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, seen here chatting with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, before his speech to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Aug. 17, 2009. (Julie Oliver/Ottawa Citizen) Photo by Julie Oliver /Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson lead the Big City Mayors' Caucus out of chambers for a press conference at Ottawa City Hall, Nov. 15, 2012. (Julie Oliver/Ottawa Citizen) Photo by Julie Oliver /Ottawa Citizen

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion poses with the team from the University of Windsor at the Alumni Field during the opening ceremony for the Ontario Summer Games in Windsor, Ont., Aug. 7, 2014. (Dan Janisse/Windsor Star) Photo by DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion reads the Toronto Sun at the official opening of the Mississauga Transit Terminal in November 1997. (Greig Reekie/Toronto Sun) Photo by Greig Reekie /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion shows off the ice rink at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. (Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun) Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor McCallion stops and looks over the city from the Mississauga City Hall as she turns 80, Feb. 14, 2001. (Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun) Photo by Veronica Henri /Toronto Sun

Hockey broadcast legend Don Cherry breaks up Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman and Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion as they face off to support Rose Cherry's Home in front of Maple Leaf Gardens. (Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun) Photo by Craig Robertson /Toronto Sun

Hazel McCallion, now retired, sits down to talk with Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington at a local Tim Hortons in Streetsville, Dec. 3, 2014. (Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun) Photo by Veronica Henri /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion joined other politicians from Toronto, Peel Region and York Region at Toronto's Union Station for a brunch to promote anti-smoking bylaws within the Greater Toronto Area. (Fred Thornhill/Toronto Sun) Photo by Fred Thornhill /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion shows her support for the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Joe Warmington/Toronto Sun) Photo by Joe Warmington /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion hosted a ceremony for Mississauga-area Olympians and Paralympians, including Chelsea Clarke, Paralympic T34 (classification) athletics sprint champion. Clark competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. (Dave Abel/Toronto Sun) Photo by Dave Abel /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion took some shots against Maple Leafs goalie great Johnny Bower in a game of ball hockey after announcing Mississauga's city centre is about to be transformed into a unique "outdoor community centre". (Michael Peake/Toronto Sun) Photo by Michael Peake /Toronto Sun

Mom-to-be Thao Lee joins Mississauga Mayor McCallion's 88th birthday party at Trillium Health Centre. The health centre unveiled the Hazel McCallion Centre for Heart Heath during the ceremony. (Alex Urosevic/Toronto Sun) Photo by Alex Urosevic /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion greets world famous Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson in Mississauga, Feb. 10, 2006. (Toronto Sun) Photo by Staff /Toronto Sun

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion poses with the Memorial Cup at Mississauga City Hall May 10, 2010 for the announcement that The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors will be hosting the 2011 Memorial Cup. (Dave Abel/Toronto Sun) Photo by Dave Abel /Toronto Sun

Hazel McCallion, former mayor of Mississauga, was out and about outside her home celebrating her 100th birthday with neighbours and well wishers, Feb. 14, 2021. Her lawn was full of 100 pink flamingos and a massive ice sculpture. (Jack Boland/Toronto Sun) Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

The "Hazel: 100 Years of Memories" exhibit was unveiled at at Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga, Oct. 26, 2021. The exhibit showcased memorabilia, paintings, clothing, awards, photos and events related to the long-time mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion. (Jack Boland/Toronto Sun) Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion celebrated her 101st birthday on Feb. 14, 2022, and part of the celebrations involved her name being installed on the $1.4 billion Mississauga Hurontario Line at Cooksville GO Station becoming "The Hazel McCallion Line." (Jack Boland/Toronto Sun) Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

As this happened she gained the nickname Queen of Sprawl.

She never accepted criticism of her political leadership, which resonated with voters.

She was acclaimed back into office in 1980, re-elected in 1982 and 1985, acclaimed in 1988, and re-elected in 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2010.

McCallion handled the world’s largest peacetime evacuation in November 1979 when a Canadian Pacific freight train loaded with explosive materials derailed in the city.

Toronto Sun front page on Tuesday, November 13, 1979.

McCallion evacuated the city and said Mississauga was closed until further notice, which was six days later.

She was admittedly a trailblazer for women in politics, but she didn’t consider herself a feminist.

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There were controversies.

McCallion faced conflict of interest allegations in 1981, after a lawsuit was brought against her for taking part in a council debate and vote on the development of 3,800 acres of land, some of which she owned.

A court ruled in 1982 that McCallion violated aspects of the Ontario Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

However, the court declined to remove her as mayor.