Mississauga’s unpredictable mayoral election goes from two-way to three-way race - Toronto Star

A new poll from Liaison Strategies shows current mayor Carolyn Parrish and former Bonnie Crombie neck-and-neck with a challenger gaining ground.

Candidates Bonnie Crombie, Dipika Damerla, Alvin Tedjo and Carolyn Parrish participated in a Mississauga mayoral debate hosted by CBC and Mississauga Board of Trade on Sept. 25, 2026

The highly competitive Mississauga mayoral race appears to have moved from a battle between two effective incumbents to a close three-way race. 

A new poll from Liaison Strategies, conducted after an “out of control” debate last Thursday, found that if the vote were held today, 22 per cent of Mississauga residents would vote for current mayor Carolyn Parrish, 23 per cent would vote for former mayor Bonnie Crombie, 18 per cent would vote for current councillor Alvin Tedjo and 8 per cent would vote for current councillor Dipika Damerla. Meanwhile, 26 per cent are still undecided. 

“We’re seeing what’s beginning to be now a three-way race,” said David Valentin, principal at polling firm Liaison Strategies. The change could indicate some undecided voters getting off the sidelines as the campaigns have ramped up with splashy announcements like Crombie’s push for a subway extension and Tedjo’s unusual endorsement from the Peel Police union, he said. 

But it’s Tedjo’s focus on affordability-linked policies, including a controversial plan for a property tax freeze and a new property tax deferral program for seniors, that could be paying off given that affordability is still the top issue for voters in Mississauga, Valentin said. 

In a similar Liaison poll done on Aug. 11 and 12, Tedjo was at 9 per cent among all voters and 12 per cent among deciding and leaning voters — fourth place. At that time, Crombie and Parrish were tied at 35 per cent among decided and leaning voters and tied at 26 per cent among all voters. 

The current poll found that among decided and leaning voters Crombie and Parrish remain neck-and-neck at 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, with Tedjo close behind at 26 per cent. 

Overall, the poll suggests Mississauga residents are conflicted, Valentin said. Forty-eight per cent feel the city is going in the wrong direction, while 28 per cent think it’s going in the right direction. Views on Parrish as a mayor are split, with 42 approving and 38 disapproving.

Parrish won the 2024 byelection triggered by Crombie running for Liberal leader and an unsuccessful bid to topple Premier Doug Ford. Both Tedjo, a first-term councillor, and Damerla, a second-term councillor who was previously an MPP, ran in the byelection, with Tedjo coming second to Parrish. 

Crombie, who won her third mayoral term in 2022 in a landslide, is facing a very different election this time around. Her opponents have sought to cast her as a quitter rather than a champion for the city. Tedjo has positioned himself as a change from the old guard represented by both Parrish and Crombie. Both Crombie and Parrish, meanwhile, have praised Tedjo as a good councillor but said he's not ready to be mayor. 

“The voters of Mississauga deserve a serious, coherent conversation about their future, not to use this election to settle personal vendettas,” said Tedjo in a statement following last week’s debate during which clashes between Parrish and Crombie became increasingly personal and pointed. 

“It’s not a question of people not knowing who these folks are. I think really what we’re seeing is that the race is very competitive. It’s a very hard choice,” said Valentin. It may mean the mayor elected on Oct. 26 could win with as little as 30 per cent of the vote in a city known for low voter turnout, he said. 

Liaison polled a random sample of 1,000 Mississauga residents between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4 using interactive voice recording technology, dialing both cellphones and landlines. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points, or 19 times out of 20. 

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A Mainstreet poll from Sept. 22 to 25 of 1,404 Mississauga residents found Parrish at 21.6 per cent, Crombie at 20.9 per cent and Tedjo at 16.1 per cent among all voters if the election were held today, with a quarter undecided. 

A Pallas poll from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 of 503 Mississauga residents found Parrish at 24 per cent, Crombie at 19 per cent and Tedjo at 16 per cent if the election were held today, with 28 per cent undecided. 

A Canada Pulse Insights poll from Sept. 14 to 25 of 514 Mississauga residents found Parrish at 24 per cent, Tedjo at 20 per cent and Crombie at 19 per cent, with 18 per cent undecided. 

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach her via email: ahasham@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati.