WARMINGTON: Mississauga mayor’s election race a neck-and-neck dead heat

A new poll shows Mayor Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie, recently spied on by Progressive Conservatives, are stuck in a virtual tie

Published Aug 14, 2026  •  4 minute read

Former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie, left, is in a dead heat with current mayor Carolyn Parrish, right, among voters ahead of the municipal election, according to a poll. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk / X /Toronto Sun

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A new opinion poll shows the campaign to become the next mayor of Mississauga is a dead heat!

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What a heavyweight horse race it is. Strong field. Unique set of circumstances.

You have the former mayor challenging the current mayor, who took over the job in a byelection when the previous mayor quit to pursue provincial politics but wants to come back now that she was unsuccessful there.

With two respected councillors vying for the top job, Mississauga voters have solid options. This election could go any way in the next dozen weeks up until the late October vote day.

“If a mayoral election were held today, Parrish and Crombie would each receive 35% among decided and leaning voters, followed by Dipika Damerla at 18% and Alvin Tedjo at 12%,” said a news release put out this morning by Liaison Strategies. “Among all voters, Parrish and Crombie are tied at 26% each, followed by Damerla at 13% and Tedjo at 9%. Twenty-six per cent are undecided.”

Four horses in this race

It’s anybody’s contest to win.

Now, I don’t like writing about polls because it’s hard to quantify the receipts. For example, this is reported as a poll but it’s more of an electronic phone survey with no human-to-human conversations.

“Liaison surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Mississauga residents from August 11 to August 12, 2026, using Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) technology,” Liaison said in the release. “Participants were reached through random digit dialing (RDD) across both landline and cellular phone networks. The resulting data was weighted to match targets based on the 2021 Census. For the total sample, the margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin is higher for sub-samples. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.”

It’s like trying to capture a cloud. You have to trust it but can’t really prove it exists.

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Liaison Principal David Valentin tells the Toronto Sun “this latest survey for Mississauga is for The Star” and that “respondents are screened for: Residency in Mississauga, Canadian Citizenship and Age (18+)” coming from the participants selected from a “directory informed Random Digit Dial (RDD), with both cellphones and landlines.”

One thing that is for sure is this will be fun to watch because you have veteran political pugilists in the ring. The front runners are dynamic politicians and formidable leaders.

Parrish has had her share of media spotlight while Crombie is in the news right now thanks to a report that the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party effectively spied on her when she travelled to Jamaica in December 2023 just after winning the provincial Liberal leadership, and weeks before she stepped down as mayor to become the new Liberal leader.

Neither have commented on ‘spygate’

Neither Parrish nor Crombie has responded to questions about the $3,000 of party money spent to send someone to conduct “research” while the still mayor of Mississauga was on vacation.

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While Opposition Leader Marit Stiles called it “creepy,” Premier Doug Ford said he was unaware of it and told reporters Thursday, “I wouldn’t do it but, again, things happen.”

Politics is an ugly game with no angels. It’s not for the meek and mild.

That said, hopefully nothing like that happens to Crombie, Parrish or the other candidates in Mississauga. Politicians don’t have much personal time or space, but when they are at home or on leave, their opposition and political opponents would be wise to not spy since that script can be easily flipped.

I like all of these politicians and their campaign people, see their strengths and weaknesses, and always try to remember they are human. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose.

While this was clearly wrong, all political players know what they signed up for. Like it or not, all eyes and cameras are on them at all times. You hope there are ethical boundaries, but everybody understands there a few lines that won’t get crossed when opponents vie for power.

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It’s a different set of rules when it comes to media. For example, scoping out Prime Minister Mark Carney’s vacation is part of a reporter’s job — like the time when Postmedia scribe Bryan Passifiume found former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had travelled to Tofino, B.C. on Truth and Reconciliation Day.

While Crombie has so far not commented on the Liaison poll, Parrish in a text to the Sun said the results “are nowhere close to what we are hearing.”

“I am doing my job to the best of my ability,” Parrish wrote.

Ultimately it will be up to Mississauga voters to decide who they want as mayor. The poll that will ultimately decide this will be counted on Oct. 26.

Read More

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   Gloves comes off on social media for Mississauga mayoral hopefuls

2. 

   Top 3 compelling races in upcoming municipal election

3. 

   Bonnie Crombie eyes return as Mississauga mayor

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