Construction for Mississauga’s Hazel McCallion light rail transit (LRT) line is currently underway, but some residents are still divided on naming the project after the city’s longest-serving mayor.
The 18-km LRT will run along Hurrontario Rd. in Mississauga, with 19 stops from Port Credit GO Station to Brampton Gateway Terminal.
The project has most commonly been referred to as the ‘Hurontario Line,’ until 2022 when Metrolinx officially changed the name to honour the legacy of Mississauga’s late mayor, Hazel McCallion.
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McCallion was first elected in 1978, and served as mayor for 12 consecutive terms until stepping down in 2014. McCallion had many career achievements before she passed in 2023 at 101 years old, and was known for committing to a pay-as-you-go philosophy which helped the city remain debt-free for most of her tenure.
The LRT is now on the list of several things named after the former mayor, including the Hazel McCallion Central Library and Sheridan College’s Hazel McCallion campus.
Although the line was named in good spirits, some social media users appear exhausted by another major project being named after McCallion, with one Reddit user posing the question, “Are we really going to be calling the Hurontario LRT the Hazel McCallion Line?”
“It feels wrong naming this line in her honour,” the user said, citing that there are already too many things named after her.
Other Reddit users chimed in, seemingly agreeing with the user.
“The real issue is that there are too many things named after Hazel McCallion in this city. Are there not other people/things we can name things after?” another poster wrote.
While other users went on to say the line should simply be called The Hurontario Line.
“Hurontario LRT is descriptive, it’s a light rail that runs on Hurontario Street. Hazel McCallion LRT tells me very little, especially if I’m an immigrant or otherwise not from Mississauga and I have no idea who that is,” one user said.
Metrolinx says the line will still be referred to as the Hurontario Line during construction, but will officially be named after McCallion once it opens.
In January, the Ontario government announced funding to extend the line into the heart of downtown Brampton via a tunnel. A completion date for the line and costs for the extension has not been announced.
