Longtime Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion was remembered at her state funeral Tuesday as a “force of nature,” a woman with boundless energy who bucked the expectations of her time to become one of the longest-serving leaders in Canada and who transformed the city she led in the process.
The funeral, which she helped plan in detail herself before her death, was held on what would have been her 102Her casket, draped in a Canadian flag and carried by an honour guard, was placed in a hearse at Mississauga City Hall where McCallion had been lying in repose and was transported in a procession to the large event centre.
“She spent 36 years serving as mayor and during that time made Mississauga the envy of the world,” Crombie said. “As a trailblazing woman in politics, and a no-nonsense city builder, she set a framework for our future, and transformed Mississauga from farmland and fruit trees to the growing urban city that we are today.”
Addressing the crowd, Chretien joked that while he originally thought he might have around 30 minutes to speak, he heard McCallion’s voice in his head “Jean, keep it clear, keep it short. Like me.” “Then in her late 80s Hazel was not just the oldest elected official to ever do the zip line. She was one of the oldest people, period, to do it,” Trudeau remembered. “But that's just who Hazel was.”When he last spoke with her a few weeks ago, Trudeau, said she urged him to push for Canadian jobs in an upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
He remembered that during that visit, her face lit up and she pulled out one of her signature miniature racecars. Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell remembered McCallion as a figure who “gave us honesty.” Even in her final days, Rider said, McCallion was trying to comfort those close to her as they faced her passing.“Her greatest joy was the warm words of appreciation from so many people. It brought her great happiness when young people recognized her and approached her for a picture or a few words,” she said.McCallion’s children Linda, Peter and Paul and granddaughter Erica were in attendance, but did not address the crowd.
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