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WARMNGTON: State funeral for Hurricane Hazel on what would have been her 102nd birthday

This will be a traditional funeral but a celebration of her life and her birthday that she tried to hang on for.

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion shows off the ice rink at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. (Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun)
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion shows off the ice rink at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. Now called the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, the venue will host her state funeral Feb. 14, 2023. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

Instead of celebrating her 102nd birthday on Valentine’s Day, Premier Doug Ford has announced the province will hold a state funeral for iconic former mayor of Mississauga Hazel McCallion. 

“A state funeral for Mrs. McCallion will be held at Paramount Fine Foods Centre on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 11 a.m.,” said the premier’s office Thursday morning. 

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The funeral — to be held in the arena where the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads play — will also be livestreamed at the Living Arts Centre, right behind City Hall at 4141 Living Arts Drive. 

Both are ticketed events. 

Said the premier’s office: “Mrs. McCallion’s family, alongside Her Honour the Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, Michelle DiEmanuele, Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council for the Government of Ontario, and Bonnie Crombie, Mayor of Mississauga, will be in attendance to pay their respects.” 

The flags will remain at half mast until the funeral and people can sign a book of condolences at City Hall or in many community centres where they have been set up. 

Even though Hazel was a municipal politician, it’s fitting to hold a state funeral for this rare politician who traversed the ideological landscape and got along with everybody equally. 

It’s the perfect way to say goodbye to the Hurricane, whose impact on Mississauga has been profound. It rose from a small bedroom community to being the third largest city in Ontario. 

This will be a traditional funeral but a celebration of her life and her birthday that she tried to hang on for. 

Fittingly, the arena in which thousands will attend to say goodbye was one of her many projects she got off the ground. The Mississauga City Hall building and arts centre too. There is not much built in Mississauga that the superstar from Streetsville didn’t have a hand in creating. 

The Hurricane was a force of nature. 

“She loved being mayor,” said her son Peter. “She loved every minute of it. She got up each day and couldn’t wait to get to work. She loved people. She loved going to as many places as she could.” 

The people loved her back. 

On Feb. 14, they will get to show their love and say goodbye. 

jwarmington@postmedia.com