Community Profiles / Peel Region

Brampton

City offices
Corporation of the City of Brampton
2 Wellington Street West
Brampton 905-874-2000
www.brampton.ca

Brampton is a suburban city in the Greater Toronto Area and the seat of Peel Region. The city has a population of more than 595,000. Brampton is Canada’s ninth-most populous city and the third most populous city in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region. Brampton was incorporated as a village in 1853 with 50 residents. The city was once known as “The Flower Town of Canada”, a title based on its large greenhouse industry. Today, Brampton’s major economic sectors include advanced manufacturing, retail administration, logistics, information, and communication technologies, food and beverage, life sciences, and business services.

Companies with headquarters in Brampton include Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Rogers Communications Inc., Chrysler Canada Brampton Assembly Plant, Maple Lodge Farms, Canadian Tire Corp, Coca-Cola Bottling Company Ltd. and Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories. The international companies of Brita, and Clorox have their Canadian national headquarters in the city. Other major companies operating in Brampton include: CN Rail Brampton Intermodal Terminal, Best Buy, Amazon, Ford, Nestlé, Hudson’s Bay Company, Frito Lay Canada, MDA Space Missions and others. Chrysler Canada’s Brampton Assembly is one of the city’s largest employers, with almost 4,000 workers when running at capacity.

Education in the city is served by two main school boards operate in Brampton: the Peel District School Board, which operates secular anglophone public schools, and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which operates Catholic anglophone public schools. Under the Peel District School Board, the secondary schools are Bramalea, Brampton Centennial, Central Peel, Chinguacousy, Fletcher’s Meadow, Harold M. Brathwaite, Heart Lake, Louise Arbour, Mayfield, North Park, Judith Nyman, Sandalwood Heights, Turner Fenton, David Suzuki, Castlebrooke Secondary School, and Jean Augustine, one of the newest. Under the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the secondary schools are Cardinal Leger, Holy Name of Mary, Notre Dame, St. Augustine, St. Edmund Campion, St. Roch, St. Marguerite d’Youville, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Cardinal Ambrozic.

Several cultural entities in the city operate under the umbrella of the Brampton Arts Council. Located in the city is the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives. The Rose Theatre is also located within the city and draws thousands of people each year to its performances. Beyond the arts and entertainment available to residents the city offers everything they could want. Shopping is plentiful in both large shopping malls and small local shopping districts. Major shopping areas include Bramalea City Centre, Shoppers World, and Trinity Commons. The downtown area has some retail; the Centennial Mall and the Brampton Mall are also of note. Residents also have a broad choice of dining and entertainment options to choose from. Housing choices vary throughout the city. Residents can expect to find a high quality of life, with all of the urban amenities one can expect in a major city.

Mississauga

City Offices
300 City Centre Drive
Mississauga 905-615-4311
www.mississauga.ca

Mississauga is a city and a suburb of Toronto. The city is home to more than 730,000 residents and is the sixth-most populated city in Canada and the second most populated in the Toronto area. The growth of Mississauga is attributed to its proximity to Toronto. The city has attracted residents from all over the world and has shown its growth with a thriving downtown. It is home to the headquarters of several Canadian and multinational corporations. Over 60 of the Fortune 500 companies base their global or Canadian head offices in Mississauga. Some of the strongest industries are pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, electronics and computers, aerospace, transportation parts and equipment industries.

For the residents of the city there are 22 neighborhoods in Mississauga, each with its own unique flavor and appeal. Thanks to the multi-cultural makeup of the city – residents enjoy a broad range of cuisines, art and cultures. Mississauga has a vibrant arts and entertainment community, promoted by the Mississauga Arts Council. The city hosts large festivals and celebration each year, such as Canada Day Celebration, Mississauga Rotary Ribfest, Tree Lighting Ceremony, and the New Year’s Eve Bash. Each of these celebrations draws many thousands of attendees, both local and from all over the region. One of the most anticipated and largest attended events in the city is Carassauga, a festival of cultures that occurs annually during mid-May. It is the second largest cultural festival in Canada. The Carassauga festival displays the different cultures around the world by setting up pavilions for countries around Mississauga. Visitors get free public transportation with their ticket to tour the city and explore the different pavilions. Various countries showcase their culture through food stalls, dance performances and small vendors. The event largely takes place in the Hershey Centre, where an outdoor stage is set up among the pavilions. There are several other annual festivals in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Mississauga is also home to one of the largest shopping malls in Canada called Square One Shopping Centre, located at the City Center. It has 350+ retail stores and services. It operates on most holidays (the exceptions being Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day), making it the only shopping mall in the city and one of the few in the Greater Toronto Area that do so. The mall is surrounded by several bars and restaurants, as well as the City Hall, the Central Library, and Playdium. Erin Mills Town Centre, the second largest mall in Mississauga, located at the western edge of the city. Located at the southeastern corner of the city is the Dixie Outlet Mall, which is Canada’s largest enclosed outlet mall. Many factory outlets of premium brands are located in this mall. Heartland Town Centre is an outlet mall with 180 stores and restaurants. A flea market, the Fantastic Flea Market, is Mississauga’s oldest flea market, which opened in 1976.

Education in the city is handled by the Peel District School Board, which operates the secular Anglophone public schools, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which operates Catholic Anglophone public schools, the Conseil scolaire Viamonde, which operates secular Francophone schools, and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, which operates Catholic Francophone schools. Within the city, the four boards run a total of more than 150 schools.

The city is also the home of the University of Toronto Mississauga, one of three campuses of the University of Toronto. U of T Mississauga has 15 academic departments, 143 programs and 87 areas of study, and includes Institutes for Management and Innovation, and Communication, Culture, Information and Technology. The Mississauga Academy of Medicine is located on campus in the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex. The Innovation Complex, which opened in September 2014, houses the Institute for Management and Innovation. The city is also home to Sheridan College.

Residents of Mississauga have many options when it comes to family entertainment. The city is home to parks and opens spaces, museums, shopping, golf and much more. It offers them the opportunity to enjoy life right outside their front door.