How the Peel police union is shaking up Mississauga’s mayoral race - Toronto Star

The Peel police union has snubbed front-runners Carolyn Parrish and Bonnie Crombie to endorse Alvin Tedjo for mayor.

Adrian Woolley, left, president of the Peel Regional Police Association, is endorsing Alvin Tedjo for mayor in the 2026 municipal election in Mississauga.

The Peel police union has snubbed the two front-runners in the race for Mississauga mayor to endorse a third candidate, adding further intrigue to an election where safety, crime and the cost of policing are top issues.

Alvin Tedjo’s plan to hire more officers was a key factor in the decision, said Adrian Woolley, president of the Peel Regional Police Association in an interview.

“He’s young, he’s energetic, and he has ideas that are going to help the city,” said Woolley. “A collaborative working relationship … is absolutely key and that’s certainly not what we have in the other two.”

Tedjo’s plan does not state specifically how many more officers he would hire and how much it would cost, but says Peel’s “cop-to-pop” ratio is lower than Toronto’s, which has “approximately 176 officers per 100,000 people, compared with roughly 163 in Peel.” Peel police has about 2,400 officers with a population of around 1.5 million people. Toronto has 5,714 officers with a population of about 3.3 million. York Regional Police has 1,871 officers with a population of about 1.3 million. 

Tedjo hopes the endorsement, which is scheduled to be made official in a press conference Monday morning, will shake up the race that has been seen largely as a battle between current mayor Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie. 

“The support of officers, the support of the service is not a blank cheque,” said Tedjo, a current city councillor. “It’s about making sure that they’re resourced appropriately to serve the community … and that they can be safe while they’re serving us.”

Parrish has faced criticism for her decision to resign from the Peel police board in 2024, just a few months after she was elected mayor. It was a move she said was needed to challenge the unprecedented 21 per cent budget increase request made by Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah to hire 300 more officers, and the resulting property tax hike. 

Peel’s police budget has increased by 70.7 per cent since Duraiappah joined as chief in 2019, the Star has reported. Recent crime statistics show a downward trend in some offences compared to last year, including robberies and car thefts, though others like theft from cars and mischief are up. Homicides have also declined since 2023. 

Parrish, whose father was a Toronto police officer, has sought to reassure voters she isn't anti-police and that her focus is affordability and finding a more cost-effective funding model — something other candidates also support.

Crombie, who was mayor of Mississauga from 2014 to 2024 before leaving to become Ontario Liberal leader, has committed to sitting on the police board if elected, and touted the hiring of 135 new officers in the 2024 Peel police budget approved during her tenure, alongside her new community safety plan that she says would free up more officers from desk work to front-line work.

The plan has been endorsed by Ron Chatha, a former chair of the Peel police board during Crombie’s time as mayor, Crombie’s campaign announced Friday. Chatha was appointed to the board by Premier Doug Ford’s government and suddenly removed in his second term in 2023. 

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Dipika Damerla, another councillor running for mayor, has not released her full community safety plan but, like the other candidates, says the Peel police funding formula needs to be balanced more fairly between Brampton and Mississauga. Damerla said she would have an independent review done.

Her plan will also include using new technology to support policing, such as more CCTV cameras, and a value-for-money audit of police spending.

Tedjo, who said he will sit on the police board if elected mayor, said his plan also calls for investment in crime prevention programs, and ways to divert mental health calls from police.

A Liaision Strategies poll done on Aug. 11 and 12 had Crombie and Parrish tied, trailed by Damerla in third and Tedjo in fourth place. 

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach her via email: ahasham@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati.