Ontario reverses decision to split Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon from Peel

In an announcement on Wednesday, the province officially confirmed it will be reversing its decision to dissolve Peel and turn Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon into separate municipalities.

The announcement was made during a housing announcement from Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, at 1:30 p.m. in Queen’s Park.

“Our goal in reviewing Peel’s local government structure has always been to provide the highest level of service at the lowest cost to taxpayers,” said Calandra.

“It is clear that full dissolution of Peel is not the best way to achieve this goal,” he said, stating that the decision to reverse the split was made based on input from the Peel Region Transition Board and municipal feedback from regional service providers and first responders.

With the decision reversed, Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are expected to remain part of Peel Region for the foreseeable future, and regional services such as paramedics and waste collection are expected not to be dissolved.

The government passed the Hazel McCallion Act in the spring to dissolve Peel Region, which would have seen Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon broken up into stand-alone municipalities as of Jan. 1, 2025.

Reports had begun circulating on Dec. 5 that Premier Doug Ford was considering reversing the Peel split, although no official decision had been made at that time.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has come out against the split which he’s called a “financial train wreck,” saying dissolution would cost more than $1 billion and saddle Brampton taxpayers with a more than 30 per cent hike.

Caledon mayor Annette Groves also called for the province to reconsider the split.

Mississauga mayor and new Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie has stood by her position that breaking up the region will benefit not just her city but all three municipalities. She has also questioned the accuracy of Brown’s figures, some of which came from a leaked KPMG report commissioned by Brown.

With files from Ryan Rumbolt