The Hurontario LRT won't actually be called the Hurontario LRT

What’s now known as the Hurontario LRT won’t stay that way for too much longer.

Hazel McCallion, beloved former mayor of Mississauga, celebrated her 101st birthday this week, and Metrolinx commemorated the occasion in style. McCallion, who served the city for 36 years, turned 101 on February 14 and to honour her, Metrolinx named the upcoming Mississauga-Brampton line after her.

“There’s only one mayor we could name this LRT after and that’s someone that’s a true icon, not just here in Mississauga, but everywhere across the country,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a video posted on his Twitter account.

The Hazel McCallion Line will be a gamechanger for the people of #Brampton and #Mississauga. The 18-kilometre LRT line will connect people to public transit and link @GOtransit’s #Milton and Lakeshore West lines, the Mississauga Transitway, @BramptonTransit, Züm and MiWay. pic.twitter.com/AJ57JVpUmD

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 15, 2022

McCallion is known for being one of the longest-serving mayors in Canada; she retired from politics in 2014 after more than three decades of service.

Current Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said that McCallion helped usher in “the longest sustained growth in Mississauga’s history.”

“We’re here today to name the most transformative project in our city’s history, the Hurontario LRT, after our city’s most transformative and iconic person: the Hazel McCallion Line,” Crombie said in the video. “Hazel, you ushered in the longest era of sustained growth in Mississauga’s history.”

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While under construction, the project will continue to be referred to as the Hurontario LRT and will be named the Hazel McCallion Line upon its opening in 2024. The Hurontario LRT is Peel Region’s newest rapid transit line, designed to ease congestion in the city.

It will bring 18 kilometres of reliable rapid transit to Mississauga and Brampton along the Hurontario corridor. The LRT will have 19 stops with connections to Port Credit GO, Cooksville GO, and Mississauga Transitway.

Crombie tweeted photos of Mississauga’s Clock Tower and City Hall lit up in red and pink to honour McCallion’s legacy and decades of public service.

In honour of #HazelMcCallionDay, our Clock Tower at City Hall will be lit red & pink this evening. Today, we thank Hazel for her over 50 years of public service to #Mississauga – including 36 as Mayor! – and for her ongoing philanthropic work in our great City. Thank you Hazel! pic.twitter.com/YrwGKox5vq

— Bonnie Crombie 🇨🇦 (@BonnieCrombie) February 15, 2022

February 14 is also officially known as Hazel McCallion Day.