City mourns Grant Gibson, former councillor and long-time advocate for downtown Brampton

Flags flew at half-mast in front of City Hall on Boxing Day to honour the memory of Grant Gibson, the former downtown-area councillor who served Brampton for nearly three decades.

A long-time, veteran councillor for Brampton Wards 1 and 5, Gibson was first elected to city council in 1991 following in the footsteps of his late father Chris – the namesake of Brampton’s Chris Gibson Recreation Centre.

After taking his father’s seat on council Gibson served as a City of Brampton councillor for nearly 30 years until 2018, when he decided not to run for re-election.

The city announced on Boxing Day that Gibson had died and that flags at Brampton City Hall would fly at half-mast in his honour.

“Our thoughts are with his family and all those who were touched by his service and commitment to Brampton,” the city said.

In 2018, Gibson said that his decision not to run again was, in part, due to changes to councillor job as Brampton grew “from a small town in the GTA to one of the largest, and most vibrant cities in Ontario.”

While on council he clashed with former mayor Linda Jeffrey over the downtown LRT expansion plans, and said working on Brampton’s downtown revitalization was a highlight of his time in council chambers.

“We have faced a lot of challenges and had a lot of successes. But this job is about the people we represent and I have found my greatest enjoyment when I am working with my constituents to find solutions to their problems,” Gibson said in a statement announcing his decision. “That’s why I ran for office in the first place; to help my neighbours.”

During his 8 terms of office, he served on several committees, and was Chair for Community Services, Building and Bylaw, Planning and Budget committees.

After the reduction in the number of wards in 2003, Gibson became the City Councillor for Wards 1 and 5.

In 2006 and 2014, he was appointed Regional Councillor by his fellow Brampton councillors.

Coun. Rowena Santos has held the post on Brampton city council since Gibson’s retirement.

Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story used the wrong spelling of councillor. The story has since been updated.