Dipika Damerla
Running for Mayor of Mississauga
A former provincial cabinet minister running on basic services, tax restraint and an independent Auditor General.
Background
Ward 7 councillor, former Ontario MPP and provincial cabinet minister. She finished third in the 2024 mayoral by-election.
Where they stand
Each position pairs what they say with what they did.
AI data centres
Don't subsidise data centres
What they did:
Cautious about, and opposed to subsidising, large facilities. She has argued that residential utility customers should not subsidise data centres and has raised concerns about their electricity and water consumption. Her vote on the July 2026 pause needs to be treated separately from the mayor's non-vote.
Environment
Green space and environment
What they did:
Strong green-space and environment emphasis.
Housing
Affordability, cautious on intensification
What they did:
Focused on affordability. Says young families should be able to buy homes and seniors should be able to remain in their homes, and emphasises keeping property taxes affordable. She is more cautious about intensification: she voted NO on fourplexes as-of-right in Oct. 2023, YES on the Jan. 2025 Housing Task Force incentives, and ABSTAINED on the Mar. 2026 Affordable Rental Housing CIP expansion.
Land use
Development with safeguards
What they did:
Development with planning and quality-of-life safeguards.
Policing
Strong public-safety emphasis
What they did:
Strong public-safety emphasis.
Public funds
Spending and accountability platform
What they did:
Strong spending and accountability platform, including tax restraint.
Transit
Make the buses run on time
What they did:
Transit and service oriented. Wants buses to arrive on time and emphasises fixing basic transportation infrastructure; her broader campaign focuses on getting existing services working properly. Supports LRT and transit improvements. As a councillor she voted with Council on 2024 budget-related measures.
Transparency
Independent Auditor General
What they did:
Very strong transparency platform, including an independent Auditor General.
What they are promising
Their own platform, in their own words. Not checked against their record.
Promotes a "practical mayor" approach, including tax restraint, an independent Auditor General, better bus service, road repairs, green-space protection, housing affordability and greater transparency. Campaign emphasises affordability, basic services, tax restraint and practical government.
