Milestone reached in Mississauga as city turns 50 years old

Happy birthday, Mississauga. Or is it happy anniversary?

Either way, Mississauga officially reached the golden milestone on Monday, which marked its 50th year as a city.

On Jan. 1, 1974, the townships of Streetsville, Port Credit and Mississauga amalgamated to form Mississauga.

Now, a half century later, Mississauga is Canada’s seventh-largest city and home to nearly one million people (some believe the city has unofficially reached one million residents already).

Moving forward, city officials and community groups have numerous events planned throughout 2024 to celebrate the big occasion. Anniversary celebrations were kicked off on Sunday night in Mississauga’s downtown core as part of New Year’s Eve festivities at Celebration Square

The clock tower at Mississauga city hall was lit up on Monday to mark the city’s golden anniversary. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who’ll leave her Mississauga post to head up the Ontario Liberals on Jan. 12, said earlier that Mississauga’s 50th birthday celebration in 2024 will be a “party for the ages.”

“A lot of plans…are well underway and we are going to create so many new initiatives and events,” said Crombie, noting that new public art, city-wide street banners, a commemorative Mississauga Library card and a wide array of anniversary-themed programming and events are just a few things planned for the City of Mississauga’s year-long 50th anniversary bash.

A time capsule is also included in the plans as Mississauga marks a half century of existence.

In all, more than 50 initiatives throughout the entirety of 2024 are in place to mark the milestone, city officials said earlier.

Meanwhile, Mississauga-based musicians and songwriters have already taken part in the city’s anniversary celebrations on one specific front — that of creating an original anthem about Mississauga.

The “Mississauga’s 50th Anthem” contest invited participants to submit their entries by last November.

The brainchild of Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko, the contest is being run by the Mississauga Arts Council, Metalworks Studios in Mississauga and SoundsUnite, an online vehicle through which people can create music.

The winner will be announced this month and the successful composer may also be invited to perform the song at an official public celebration of Mississauga’s 50th anniversary, officials say.

(Cover photo: City of Mississauga)