Gerald Adad Ward 7 · Mississauga · Municipal Election 2026

A free public resource for Ward 7

Who Decides What The Ward 7 Voter Guide

Everything you need in order to vote in Mississauga Ward 7, in the order you will need it. Free to read, quote and link to, whoever you intend to vote for.

Election day Mon, Oct 26 Polls open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.1
Vote early Oct 6–11 Any location in Mississauga2
Bring One ID Name and address. No photo needed.3

Updated 19 sources cited

Where things stand today

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01 The job

Who actually decides what

People bring problems to councillors that councillors have no power to fix, and miss the ones they decide outright.16 Ten quick calls. Most people get at least three wrong.

The full split

City of Mississauga

Your councillor votes on this

  • The city budget and your property tax rate
  • Planning, zoning and development approvals
  • Parks, community centres, libraries
  • MiWay transit routes and service levels
  • Local roads, sidewalks, snow clearing
  • By-laws and property standards
  • Fire and emergency services

Region of Peel

Your councillor also sits here16

  • Police funding and oversight
  • Paramedics and public health
  • Social services and housing supports
  • Water and wastewater
  • Waste collection and recycling
  • Major regional roads

Province and beyond

Not your councillor

  • Health care and hospitals
  • Schools and curriculum
  • Highways and GO Transit
  • Criminal law and courts
  • Immigration
  • Rent control rules

Why this particular term is unusual

Whoever wins sits from 2026 to 2030, which happens to be the term in which the Region of Peel hands major responsibilities directly to Mississauga.

  • July 1, 2027Regional roads and stormwater transfer to the City17
  • October 1, 2027Waste collection transfers, a date Council itself approved in 202517
  • Under reviewWater and wastewater, with public ownership to be maintained17
  • Early 2028Hazel McCallion LRT construction finishes on Hurontario, then testing18

The councillor elected in October helps decide how services worth hundreds of millions get absorbed, staffed and paid for.

Jump ahead Why your vote counts more Who is on my ballot Can I vote

02 The part nobody tells you

Almost nobody
shows up. That is
the whole story.

Sixteen candidates, no incumbent, and a ward where barely a fifth of people vote. Here is the number that actually decides it, drawn one dot per person.

~2,000 One dot is one neighbour. About this many will choose the next councillor.
Every dot is one person, drawn at real count. That is not a metaphor or a sample: if roughly 9,000 people vote again and sixteen candidates split them, a couple of thousand votes takes the seat.

And how many bothered last time

8,995 voted in 20224 ~32,000 eligible, stayed home20

What it might take to win this time

2022 · 7 candidates, one incumbent 4,969
2026 · 16 candidates, no incumbent ~2,000

The 2022 figure is the official result.4 The 2026 figure is plain arithmetic, not a prediction: if a similar number of people vote and the field splits sixteen ways, a strong plurality of roughly 20 to 25 per cent wins the seat. In a race this crowded, nobody needs a majority.

A few hundred neighbours who decide to show up will pick the councillor for the next four years. That is not an argument for any candidate. It is an argument for voting.

Jump ahead Who is on my ballot Can I vote When and where

03 Your ballot

What you will actually see

Most people walk in expecting one race. There are three, and almost nobody knows about the third.8

The ballot is not final until August 21.7 Candidates can file or withdraw up to 2 p.m. on nomination day, and the City certifies the list afterwards. The official list is always at mississaugavotes.ca.
How Ward 7 voted in 20224
Ward 7 Councillor, 2022. Total ballots cast: 8,995.
CandidateVotesShare
Dipika Damerla Elected4,96955.24%
Leslie Zurek-Silvestri Running again1,98122.02%
Amir Ali Running again6587.32%
Mark Freeland5806.45%
Iain McCallum3694.10%
Maisa Salhia Running again3103.45%
Ranjit Chahal1281.42%
Jump ahead Can I vote When and where Questions to ask candidates

04 Eligibility

Are you allowed to vote?

Three conditions. If all three are true, nobody can turn you away.

1
You are a Canadian citizen9

Permanent residents, work and study permit holders and refugee claimants cannot vote in Ontario municipal elections. This is provincial law, not a City rule.10

2
You are 18 or older on October 269

Turning 18 on election day itself counts.

3
You live in Mississauga, or own or rent property here9

Tenants have identical rights to homeowners. So does the spouse of an owner or tenant. You cannot vote twice, even if you own property in more than one ward.

Not on the voters' list? You can still vote.11 Turn up with ID showing your name and Mississauga address and election staff will add you at the location, right up to the close of voting. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Bring one piece of ID with your name and address

Photo ID is not required, and your voter card alone is not ID. Any one of these is enough:3

  • Driver's licence
  • Ontario Photo Card
  • Utility bill
  • Bank statement
  • Credit card statement
  • Lease or rental agreement
  • Mortgage statement
  • Insurance policy
  • Property tax assessment
  • Personalised cheque
  • Government cheque or stub
  • T4 or CRA statement

Already on the list but arrived with nothing? Sign a Declaration of Identity (Form 9) at the location and vote anyway.12

Jump ahead When and where Am I in Ward 7 Make my plan

05 Logistics

When and where to vote

Vote early Oct 6–11

Vote at any advance location in Mississauga, not just one in Ward 7. Shorter queues, and you go on your own schedule. In 2022 more than a quarter of all Mississauga ballots were cast early.5

Election day Mon, Oct 26

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. You must vote at your own assigned location in Ward 7. If you are in the queue at 8 p.m., stay there. You are entitled to vote.1

Finding your location

A voter notification card arrives in the post in September with your exact location on it. Bring it, though it is not ID on its own.13 The City publishes the full location lists closer to the date.

City voting locations

If you cannot get there

Vote by proxy: you appoint another eligible Mississauga voter to cast your ballot. The form must be certified by the City before 5 p.m. on election day, so do not leave it to the last hour.14

Accessibility

Locations are accessible, with assistive voting technology and trained staff. You may bring someone to help you, or ask an election official.15

Other languages

The City publishes election information in Arabic, French, Polish, Punjabi, Traditional Chinese and Urdu.15 In a ward this diverse, pass it to a neighbour who needs it.

Every date that matters

  1. Aug 21Nominations close at 2 p.m. The ballot is final.
  2. Sep 1Apply to the City Clerk to be added to the voters' list.
  3. SeptemberVoter notification cards arrive in the post.
  4. Oct 6–11Advance voting, at any location in Mississauga.
  5. Oct 26Election day. Polls open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Jump ahead Am I in Ward 7 Questions to ask Make my plan

06 Geography

Am I in Ward 7?

Ward 7 is Cooksville and the neighbourhoods wrapped around it, including Gordon Woods, Fairview and the area around Mississauga Hospital.19

Map showing the boundary of Ward 7 in Mississauga Open the full map
NorthBurnhamthorpe Road, Mavis to Hurontario
EastHurontario Street and Cawthra Road, down to the QEW
SouthThe QEW, Cawthra to the Credit River
WestThe Credit River and Mavis Road, back up to Burnhamthorpe

Living right on a boundary street? The City's official address lookup is the final word, and your voter card will state your ward.

07 Hold them to it

Eight questions worth asking

Ask them of every candidate who knocks, including the one who published this page. Screenshot it and take it to a debate.

  1. The Region hands roads, stormwater and waste collection to the City during your term. How do you absorb that without a tax spike or a service drop?
  2. Ward 7 is dense and tenant-heavy. What can a councillor actually do for renters, given rent control is provincial?
  3. What specifically would you change about how development gets approved in Cooksville?
  4. Turnout here was under 22 per cent.5 What will you personally do about that?
  5. How would you address crime and safety in Ward 7?
  6. The LRT lands mid-term. What does Ward 7 need ready before it opens?
  7. What is the first thing you put on a council agenda in your first ninety days?
  8. How do residents reach you, and what response time will you commit to?

08 Your plan

Make your voting plan

People who make a specific plan are far more likely to actually vote. Three taps, and it saves to this device.

1 Which day?
2 What time?
3 Getting there?

Stored only in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere and we cannot see it.

09 Sources

Check our work

Every numbered marker in the text points to one of these. Tap a marker anywhere on the page to see the source without leaving your place.

  1. City of Mississauga, 2026 Municipal Election ↑Election day of Monday, October 26, 2026 and polling hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  2. Mississauga Votes, For voters ↑Advance voting from October 6 to 11, 2026, and the rule that advance voting may be done at any location in Mississauga while election-day voting must be in your own ward.
  3. Ontario Regulation 304/13, and the Ontario 2026 Voters' Guide ↑The full list of accepted voter identification, and the rule that one document showing name and address is sufficient and photo identification is not required.
  4. City of Mississauga, 2022 Official Results Report (PDF) ↑The 2022 Ward 7 result: 8,995 ballots cast, Dipika Damerla elected with 4,969 votes (55.24%), and the vote totals for all seven candidates.
  5. City of Mississauga, 2022 Official Results Report (PDF) ↑City-wide 2022 turnout of 21.84% from 107,310 ballots cast, of which 28,052 were cast during advance voting.
  6. 2026 Mississauga municipal election, Wikipedia ↑The list of registered Ward 7 candidates, and that incumbent councillor Dipika Damerla is contesting the mayoralty rather than seeking re-election in the ward.
  7. City of Mississauga, 2026 Municipal Election ↑Nomination day of August 21, 2026 at 2 p.m., after which the City certifies the final list of candidates.
  8. Ontario 2026 Voters' Guide ↑That electors vote for a mayor, a councillor and a school board trustee, and that the trustee race appearing on a ballot is determined by the board the elector is registered as supporting.
  9. Mississauga Votes, Before you vote ↑Voter eligibility: Canadian citizenship, being at least 18 years of age, and being either a resident of Mississauga or a non-resident owner or tenant of property in the city, or the spouse of one.
  10. Ontario 2026 Voters' Guide, eligibility to vote ↑That non-citizens, including permanent residents, temporary residents and refugee claimants, are not eligible to vote in Ontario municipal elections.
  11. Ontario 2026 Voters' Guide, voters' list ↑That online registration closes before September 1, 2026, after which electors apply to the municipal clerk, and that applications may be made up to the close of voting on October 26.
  12. Ontario 2026 Voters' Guide, voters' list ↑The Declaration of Identity (Form 9), available to an elector who appears on the voters' list but cannot produce identification.
  13. Mississauga Votes, Before you vote ↑That voter notification cards are mailed in September 2026 and show the elector's assigned voting location.
  14. City of Mississauga, 2026 Municipal Election ↑Proxy voting, and the requirement that the Appointment of Voting Proxy form be certified by the City before 5 p.m. on election day.
  15. City of Mississauga, first-time voter information ↑Accessible voting locations, assistive voting technology, and election information published in Arabic, French, Polish, Punjabi, Traditional Chinese and Urdu.
  16. City of Mississauga, how municipal government works ↑The division of responsibilities between the City, the Region of Peel and the Province, and that Mississauga councillors also sit on Regional Council.
  17. Region of Peel, service transfer updates; City of Mississauga, waste collection transfer ↑Regional roads and stormwater transferring by July 1, 2027; waste collection transferring October 1, 2027, a date approved by Mississauga Council in September 2025; and water and wastewater remaining under provincial review.
  18. Metrolinx, Hazel McCallion Line ↑The Hurontario light rail corridor and the expectation that construction concludes in early 2028, with testing and commissioning to follow.
  19. Ward 7 boundary map, City of Mississauga ward geography ↑The approximate boundaries of Ward 7: Burnhamthorpe Road to the north, Hurontario Street and Cawthra Road to the east, the QEW to the south, and the Credit River and Mavis Road to the west.
  20. Estimate, not an official figure — pending verification ↑The figure of roughly 41,000 eligible Ward 7 voters is an estimate derived from ward population and the city-wide turnout rate, and has not yet been confirmed against a City-published eligible-elector count. It is the only estimated figure on this page and is labelled as such wherever it appears.

Found a mistake?

This page is only worth having if it is right. Email gerald.adad7@gmail.com with the error and a source and it gets fixed and re-dated. Corrections from rival campaigns are just as welcome as any other.

Who made this

Published by the campaign to elect Gerald Adad, one of the sixteen candidates for Ward 7 Councillor. Every candidate is listed, alphabetically, with no commentary or ranking. The voting information is drawn from the City of Mississauga and the Province of Ontario and is offered free to every resident of Ward 7, whoever they intend to vote for.