Thousands gathered at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga on Tuesday to mourn the loss of Hazel McCallion, the former mayor of Mississauga.
The funeral occurred at the hockey rink where McCallion had attended the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship in 2000.
McCallion died on Jan. 29 of pancreatic cancer. She was born in 1921 in Port-Daniel, Que. on the Gaspe Peninsula, and Feb. 14 would have been McCallion’s 102nd birthday.
McCallion was mayor from 1978 to 2014, the longest-serving mayor in Mississauga history. She led the city through crisis as a rookie mayor during the 1979 Mississauga Train Derailment, to significant growth in the city until her retirement.
Members of the Peel Regional Police's Honour Guard march down Rose Cherry Place by the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, as they follow Mayor Hazel McCallion's funeral procession. Photo credit: Sam Belton
Bonnie Crombie, the current mayor of Mississauga, expressed condolences to McCallion’s family.
“Mississauga mourns with you. Hazel touched the lives of so many in Mississauga and beyond,” Crombie eulogized. “She was our matriarch, the architect of our city. We join today to mark the end of an era. She built our city in her vision.”
Crombie described McCallion the “Missus” of Mississauga and that the city would not be the same without her.
McCallion influenced Crombie to run for city councillor in 2011.
A few years later, McCallion called Crombie to her office to say she was planning on retiring and recommended she run for mayor. She did, and immediately after McCallion’s retirement, Crombie took office.
Crombie mentioned McCallion’s love for hockey and putting more women into sports.
“Being mayor maybe was her calling, but hockey was her passion,” Crombie said.
One of Crombie’s memories of McCallion was being with her and Fran Rider, a founding member of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics as they watched the women’s hockey team win a gold medal.
Rider was also in attendance and gave a eulogy.
“If you spoke to Hazel at the end of the day, she would always respond, ‘I had a great day.’ Because she was with people, and she was living a life she loved,” Rider said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was also in attendance.
Master of Ceremonies Jim Murray (front left), Ontario Premier Doug Ford (middle left), his wife Karla Ford (middle right), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (back left), and Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie leave Hazel McCallion's state funeral. Photo credit: Sam Belton
“Everyone knew Hazel was a force to be reckoned with, and if you didn’t, you quickly found out,” Ford said during his speech.
“Her commitment to community and community building was second to none. She was always fighting for the underdog; the people who never had a chance. Hazel believed in them. She believed in their potential,” Ford said.
He attributed that to McCallion growing up at a time when women were held in lower regard than men. But McCallion did not accept that.
“Her force of will was clear in everything she did,” Ford said. “But never more obvious than her 36 years as mayor of Mississauga, the longest serving mayor in Mississauga’s history.”
He said he learned from her during his entry into politics. He cherished breakfast conversations with her on Saturday, when she shared her “wisdom and guidance” with him.
Ford visited her shortly before she passed. McCallion pulled out a small, red, miniature race car, where she wrote “To my favourite premier. Love, Hazel” on it, he said.
“That little red race car embodies the best of Hazel. Always on the move, never slowing down, not even in her later years,” Ford said. “Excited about the promise of what came next. Always leading with love.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also came to Mississauga to mourn for McCallion.
“In a way, she will live forever, and not just because she has a day to her name, but because of her legacy,” Trudeau said. “Because she will always be remembered as someone who worked hard and delivered everyday for people,”
He said that not only was she one of Canada’s longest-serving mayors, but she was also a businesswoman and an athlete.
“Paul, Linda, and Peter, will miss her as a mother. Erika will miss her as a grandmother, and we’ll all miss her as an inspiration,” Trudeau said.
Fifteen years ago, on a trip to Italy, Trudeau, his wife Sophie, and McCallion shared a zipline ride. This made McCallion one of the oldest people ever to ride that zipline.
“She wouldn’t let anything stop her,” Trudeau said.
“No matter the challenges, her approach never changed,” he said. “People should always come first. She was there to positively empower people while of course reminding them to ‘do their homework,'” he said, referencing her famous quote.
He said McCallion’s lack of interest in running provincially or federally, since she did not think she could ever be good at “following the party line.”
“We probably would’ve ended up as ministers serving in her cabinet,” he said, making the crowd laugh.
Former prime minister Jean Chretien said that in all his travels and meetings with leaders around the globe, he had never met anyone like McCallion. He said she was always clear, to the point, determined — and hardworking.
“She had a big heart. It’s no coincidence at all that she was born on Feb. 14,” Chretien said. “She made a difference for this city.”
McCallion also left her mark on local residents.
“I feel like the name Mississauga became synonymous with her name,” Mississauga resident Alan Gnanakaneshan said. “Mississauga really owes her gratitude. We really should admire her ability to help this city become what it is today.”
“I actually got to meet to her during the Ontario election last year,” he said. “And she’s very down to earth. She’s a very strong person.
“She brings a great sense of vibrancy to a room whenever she’s present,” Gnanakaneshan he said.