Hazel McCallion, a political powerhouse and the longtime former mayor of Mississauga, will be remembered at a state funeral being held Tuesday.
The service, which will take place at Paramount Fine Foods Centre at 11 a.m., is being held on what would have been McCallion’s 102nd birthday.
Among those in attendance at the funeral will be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie.
The province says flags will be flown at half-mast across Ontario today.
McCallion died at her home on Jan. 29. Family friend Jim Murray said she died of pancreatic cancer, which she was diagnosed with around Christmas.
Known affectionately as “Hurricane Hazel,” McCallion developed a legacy of no-nonsense advocacy during more than three decades as mayor of one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities.
She was widely respected by politicians across the spectrum and was even more revered by constituents, who voted her in to office with landslide victories for 12 successive terms.
McCallion ultimately decided to bow out of municipal politics at the age of 93, leaving the mayor’s office 36 years after she was first elected.
