Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie might get her wish, if a new poll gauging support for the city’s exit from Peel Region is mirrored during a possible referendum on the issue in the 2018 municipal election.

Just over half of Mississauga residents, 52 per cent, surveyed said they support the city’s departure from the regional government, to become an independent single-tier municipality. A quarter of those polled do not support an exit, while 23 per cent have no opinion.

Controversy erupted in Peel two weeks ago when Crombie announced her wish to pull her city out of the region, to the anger of Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey, who accused her Mississauga counterpart of wanting to “cut and run” after Brampton supported its neighbour’s build-out since Peel was created in 1974.

Brampton, Jeffrey argued, has significant growth yet to happen and stands to see continued benefits from the regional system, just as Mississauga did while its growth was supported by Peel’s two other municipalities (Caledon is also part of the region).

The poll by Forum Research, conducted last week, shows that only 32 per cent of Brampton residents support an exit by their city from the region, which Crombie said would be the most reasonable way to move forward. She said Caledon, which is on the verge of a large population expansion, should be amalgamated with Dufferin County to the north to support its growth.

The Forum poll surveyed 1,548 Peel residents. The firm says the results are accurate plus or minus 2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Crombie has stated that Mississauga, with a population approaching 800,000, should be able to “choose its own destiny,” and as the country’s sixth-largest city needs to be an independent municipality.

She and others on city council have argued that Mississauga is contributing disproportionately to Peel Region, effectively subsidizing services and infrastructure in Brampton and Caledon.

Crombie also said Mississauga has its own identity and needs to pursue its own ambitions as a mature, rapidly urbanizing city.

She has pointed to the possibility of a referendum alongside the 2018 election as one way to determine whether the plan should go forward.

Brampton and Caledon would probably need to support the move, as would the provincial government. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin told the Star that the interests of Brampton and Caledon would be considered by the province before it moves on a possible Mississauga exit.

A city official told the Star that a hypothetical best-case scenario, with all parties onside, could see Mississauga become independent by 2022.

A study by an outside firm will soon be conducted to examine the feasibility of leaving the region, after Mississauga council voted two weeks ago to pursue the plan.

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NUMBERS FROM THE POLL

Men are more supportive than women of an exit from Peel Region: 58%, compared to 47% of women.

Support is highest among those with a post-graduate education: 63%.

73% of respondents say they’re satisfied with the services they receive from Peel Region.

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Satisfaction with the services received from the city, on the other hand, varies by municipality: 80% of Mississauga residents say they’re satisfied with those services, compared with 77% of Caledon residents and 70% of Brampton residents.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie enjoys considerably more support within her city than Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey. Some 72% of residents say Crombie is doing a good job, compared with 54% of Brampton residents who say the same of Jeffrey.

Forum says its results are accurate plus or minus 2%, 19 times out of 20.

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