Mississauga, Ontario’s diminutive “Hurricane” mayor, Hazel McCallion, who served in that role for a record 12 terms and lived to be 94, has passed away. At 101, she was an old lady.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, revealed that McCallion had passed away early on Sunday morning.
Hazel “was the true definition of a public servant,” Ford said in a statement after her death. “No one who has ever met Hazel has ever been able to ignore the magnetic pull of her character. I count myself tremendously blessed to have named Hazel my friend over these last many years.”
In a statement, McCallion’s successor, Bonnie Crombie stated, “Hazel was not just my mentor and political role model but the reason why so many women were motivated to enter politics.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that he recalled the “unstoppable” McCallion.
“We will remember her as a pioneer whose career in politics and dedication to her community will be an example to all of us. But ultimately, we will remember her as a wonderful friend,” he remarked.
McCallion lost her first political contest. She lost her first election in 1966 for the position of deputy reeve, but she went on to win 17 consecutive elections in the city to the west of Toronto.
She served as Mississauga’s mayor from 1978 to 2014, during which time she was re-elected nine times without substantial opposition. One of her poor opponents said that fighting her was like “taking on somebody’s beloved granny.” He made such remark in 1985, after she had served only a little over a year.
After taking swift action after an explosive railway wreck in 1979, McCallion got her moniker, “Hazel,” after the hurricane that devastated southern Ontario in 1954. Through the years, she personified the nickname: resilient, bold, and even ruthless in her pursuit of her goals.
Hazel became a household name in Canada, regardless of whether you were looking at the male or female mayors at the time. This is despite the fact that Mayor Charlotte Whitton of Ottawa and Reeve Mary Fix of Toronto Township also had prominent municipal jobs.
However, McCallion despised the label “feminist” and offered a characteristically undiplomatic description of her approach in a male-dominated field: “Think like a man, act like a woman, and work like a hound.”
What Was Hazel McCallion caused Of death?
McCallion was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer around the holidays, according to Jim Murray, a longtime friend and family spokesman. According to him, McCallion’s job was the driving force behind his entire existence.
He thinks Mississauga residents should be grateful that McCallion’s kids spent so much time with their busy mom, especially on weekends.
Both a public memorial service and a private family funeral are in the works, with arrangements still being ironed out, he added.
“A very, very special woman, the likes of which in this nation very few people will ever see again,” Murray said of her.
Her plans called for making all of Mississauga available to development, not just the regions around existing neighbourhoods. Some opponents labelled her the “Queen of Sprawl” because developers paid levies that went toward building libraries, arenas, and community centres.
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