News release

Council endorses Mississauga’s new Official Plan to help guide the City’s growth

After extensive public consultation, City Council adopted the new Official Plan on April 16, 2025.

City building | April 22, 2025

Mississauga’s vision for the future is taking shape. On April 16, 2025, City Council officially adopted Mississauga’s new Official Plan, marking an important step in shaping how our city will grow in the years to come. This comes after extensive public engagement, where City planners and staff heard from thousands of residents and businesses on key priorities, including housing, transit, job creation, heritage, diversity, infrastructure, and environmental protection.

The updated Official Plan supports Mississauga’s growth, while aligning with provincial planning changes. Key updates focus on expanding housing options, building mixed-use communities, improving transportation networks, supporting businesses, and enhancing environmental and heritage protections. Highlights include:

  • More housing options: New policies to enable broader housing types in all neighbourhoods, while encouraging gentle density.
  • Expanding housing capacity: Updated policies now allow for a total of 370,000 new residential units, which is 124,000 more units than originally outlined in the Housing Action Plan.
  • Enabling growth along transit corridors: Increasing heights near transit, including across Major Transit Station Areas, to create more housing near transit hubs.
  • Creating more mixed-use communities: Connecting residents to the services and amenities they rely on most.
  • Supporting job and economic growth: More flexibility for businesses, allowing for a broader range of uses, while protecting industrial, office, retail and services uses from residential conversion.
  • Enhanced transportation options: Expanding infrastructure for walking, cycling and transit to reduce congestion and improve connectivity.
  • Stronger environmental protections: Enhanced policies to protect natural areas while addressing the impacts of climate change.
  • Streamlined development policies: Simplifying regulations to help facilitate and encourage more housing to support Mississauga’s growth.
  • Heritage and cultural protections: Ensuring Mississauga’s rich history is protected, while promoting social inclusion and diversity.

These changes ensure Mississauga remains a welcoming and thriving city for years to come, while also responding to local needs, public input, and provincial guidelines.

Next steps

The Official Plan was presented to the Planning and Development Committee on March 24, 2025, and adopted by Council on April 16, 2025. Staff will now submit the Official Plan to the Province of Ontario for their final review and approval, as required by the Ontario Planning Act.

Background

The Official Plan is a long-term plan that sets the vision for Mississauga, and guides how the City will grow and develop. It addresses important parts of city building, providing guidance on everything from where new housing, businesses, and roads will go, to what services and amenities – like parks, schools and community centres – are needed. The Official Plan also sets standards for the review and approval of development applications in the City. The plan is updated every 10 years, as required by the Ontario Planning Act, to reflect community needs and provincial planning policies. The Official Plan provides the basis for Mississauga’s land use and urban design, in line with the City’s Strategic Plan. It’s important to note that the Official Plan sets the City’s overall vision and does not give permission to build. That role belongs to the Zoning By-law, which will help put the Official Plan into action.

Quotes

“Today marks a major milestone for Mississauga. As our City continues to grow, this new Official Plan helps ensure we’re preparing for our future in a way that is forward thinking, sustainable, and inclusive. We listened to our residents and businesses, and made important changes to help ensure Mississauga is a place where people want to live, work, and raise a family. I’m looking forward to the next step and hearing from our Provincial partners as we move forward toward final approval.”  – Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish

“We’re excited to see this plan move forward. The City undertook extensive public consultation to ensure the updated Official Plan reflects the needs and priorities of our residents and businesses. Throughout this process, we heard valuable feedback that helped create a plan that supports complete communities, our environment, and our economic growth.” – Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner, Planning and Building

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Media contact

City of Mississauga Media Relations
media@mississauga.ca
905-615-3200, ext. 5232
TTY: 905-896-5151