Food Banks Mississauga Hosting Mississauga Mayoral Debate on October 1, 2026

In collaboration with CityNews 24/7 and The Metamorphosis Network

Food Banks Mississauga is hosting a Mississauga mayoral debate on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at their facility from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in partnership with The Metamorphosis Network. CityNews Senior Journalist Mark McAllister will moderate the debate, and CityNews 24/7 will live-stream it. The top four polling candidates who have a minimum level of 5% support, as determined by voting intention polls as of September 18, 2026, will be participating in the debate. At the time of publication, the current top four polling candidates are: Bonnie Crombie, Dipika Damerla, Carolyn Parrish, and Alvin Tedjo.

As the largest food security organization in Mississauga that leads and supports a citywide network of food programs, Food Banks Mississauga is hosting this debate to ensure that poverty alleviation, including income and housing security, and food security are key platform issues for mayoral candidates. 

“This upcoming election is an important one for the city of Mississauga. Our upcoming debate will give residents a chance to hear directly from candidates on affordability, housing, and their plans to alleviate food insecurity and poverty in our city. These are issues that we and our network of over 60 food programs see our community struggling with every day,” says Meghan Nicholls, CEO of Food Banks Mississauga.

“We saw over half a million food bank visits last year across our network, which is the most in our organization’s 40-year history. The reality is that 1 in 17 Mississauga residents now rely on a food program. As food insecurity continues to rise at alarming rates, the debate is a chance for the public to ask candidates how they will tackle the systemic social and economic challenges facing our city.”

“The 100 nonprofit organizations in our network are all facing serious challenges with delivering services in Mississauga because of the gaps in provincial funding. We hope the next mayor will be a champion for the people who live in this city and work with us to address these kinds of issues,” says Sean Meagher, Coordinator of The Metamorphosis Network.

Mississauga residents are invited to attend the debate on October 1, 2026, in person or virtually and can RSVP, submit their questions, and find all the details at foodbanksmississauga.ca/debate. 

Final questions will be curated by Food Banks Mississauga and CityNews Senior Journalist, Mark McAllister, to ensure coverage of the relevant issues.