Peter McCallion, the son of Mississauga’s late mayor Hazel McCallion, has penned an open letter taking aim at Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie for using his mother’s image in her campaign materials.
In the letter, released Wednesday, Peter McCallion says that he can “no longer stand by in silence” and allow Crombie to “distort” his mother’s legacy.
Hazel McCallion endorsed Crombie when she ran to become mayor of Mississauga back in 2014 and the two remained in touch.
While McCallion died in 2023, Crombie has referenced her on the campaign trail and used images of the two together in some of her campaign advertising.
In his letter, Peter McCallion claims that while his mother endorsed Crombie, she later came to regret it and says that he does not believe that the late mayor would endorse Crombie again today.
In particular, he seems to take issue with Crombie’s recent appeal to NDP voters to throw their support to her instead.
“Hazel McCallion, my mother, would never have capitulated or resorted to ‘begging’ her political foes to abandon their own principals and join her only in the name of victory,” he wrote.
“To those who shared this deep respect for Hazel McCallion, I urge you to honour her legacy by choosing leaders who stand for integrity and service -- not those who have strayed from these principles.”
He goes on to say that he believes his mother would have endorsed PC Leader Doug Ford in the current election, just as she did in two previous elections.
Peter McCallion was a candidate in the Mississauga mayoral race which followed Crombie’s resignation in 2024. However he dropped out of the race and threw his support to current mayor, Carolyn Parrish.
Asked about his letter at a campaign stop Wednesday, Crombie cast doubt on some of its claims and pointed out that Peter’s own daughter, Erika McCallion, is working on her campaign.
“Erika and I adored her grandmother, Hazel McCallion, who mentored me in my career and I learned so much from her. All the fiscal discipline I show today was because of Hazel McCallion, my outreach to people and cultural communities,” Crombie said.
“I learned at the feet of Hazel McCallion, everything I learned was from Hazel. I adored her, and until she passed, sadly, two years ago, she would still call me once a week and we would talk about what was going on at council and she encouraged me and she said ‘You’re doing a great job. Keep it up.’”
For her part, Erika McCallion posted a picture of herself on social media Wednesday, wearing a red Bonnie Crombie toque and encouraging people to vote.
Hazel McCallion served as Mississauga’s mayor for decades and her name still carries weight with voters.
During her stop in the Ottawa area Wednesday, Crombie also took aim at Ford, accusing him of “hiding” because he hasn’t taken questions on the campaign trail for the past few days.
