In June 2007, when Council approved “Our Future Mississauga – Be Part of the Conversation,” Council challenged staff to engage the community in the creation of a bold vision for the future of our city. With Council’s approval, we launched the City’s largest public engagement initiative ever.  “Our Future Mississauga” was designed to be a conversation.  Throughout the engagement process, we talked with people of all ages and walks of life -- students, older adults, business, cultural and community leaders, and residents – who shared their hopes and dreams for our city.  “Our Future Mississauga” connected with over 100,000 people who shared more than 12,000 ideas.  Throughout our conversations, we heard that Mississauga already has many qualities that make this city a great place to live, learn, work and play.   Qualities such as economic stability and a variety of business opportunities; a commitment to the environment, health and safety; well-established infrastructure; quality municipal programs, services and fiscal prudence as well as strong leadership and staff. We also have challenges to address so that we can take advantage of the opportunities to expand on our positive qualities Through our conversations, some common themes emerged.  We began to focus on the thoughts and dreams that residents felt most deeply about and distilled them into 18 Drivers for Change.  The Drivers for Change represent the themes and ideas that resonated most deeply with the community and formed the foundation for our Vision Statement and Strategic Plan. The “conversations” that happened during Our Future Mississauga helped to create our new Strategic Plan. 

Our new Strategic Plan is the municipality’s highest level policy document, created to shape and direct decision-making – in a strategic way, for the next 40 years. It is intentional about the things the city needs to change to become a great 21st century city. The Plan has a Vision Statement and five Strategic Pillars for Change. The Vision Statement is the "blueprint" for Mississauga. It is a picture of what success will look like when we have achieved the plan in 40 years time. The Strategic Pillars for Change are the areas of priority and opportunity and include Direction and Principles to keep us focussed on our vision. The Pillars are supported by Strategic Goals and Actions that are specific and intentional about the change we want to happen in our city. The complemenary document to the Strategic Plan is the Action Plan. It is the nuts and bolts of how we will meet our targets and deliver on the vision. Over 200 actions are identified in the Action Plan and we are already working on 87 of those actions. We have identified specific targets, funding requirements and partnerships that are required for us to accomplish these actions.

Here is our vision statement. It is unique and specific to Mississauga Here is our vision statement. It is unique and specific to Mississauga. Each phrase represents where we want our city to be in 40 years. Here is what is behind the vision: “inspire the world” – represents the engaged and energized population in Mississauga, as was evident through the Our Future Mississauga – be part of the conversation process. People connected with and expressed a strong passion for their city; “dynamic and beautiful” – reflects a city of hidden jewels, our historic villages, the Credit River valley and our waterfront; “global city” - represents where the world lives and our cultural diversity; “vibrant/celebrate” – represents an exciting place to live. Creating places for people to gather/opportunities for cultural exchange and celebration; “safe” – reflects Mississauga’s recognition as Canada’s safest city. People’s safety is important, it is part of what we do well and must be preserved as the city moves forward. “creativity and innovation” – this notion speaks to the Strategic Pillar for Change around cultivating creative & innovative businesses. The city has been successful in economic development efforts and an area of emphasis moving forward will be around the need to encourage innovative, knowledge based businesses to create synergies for innovation as well as the importance of arts and culture in creating a vibrant city; “connected communities” – represents the importance of transit and other modes of active transportation to connect our communities; “diversity of our cultures” - Mississauga is one of the gateways to Canada for new immigrants and this notion speaks to the tremendous opportunities that exist to better support new immigrants and allow for this diversity to express itself more prominently in the urban form of the city; “Lake Ontario and the Credit River Valley” – represents the importance of the natural environment and it places Mississauga in the world; “A place where people choose to be” – reflects a focus on people, this is where they choose to live, work, visit and play.

The vision is supported by five Strategic Pillars for Change. “Move” – Developing a transit-oriented city “Belong” – Ensuring youth, older adults and new immigrants thrive “Connect” – Completing our neighbourhoods “Prosper” – Cultivating creative and innovative businesses “Green” – Living green

Our first Strategic Pillar for Change is Developing a Transit Oriented City. Mississauga is a city designed for the automobile. We heard during our conversation that this needs to change. This means building a reliable and convenient transit system, including walking and cycling, being environmentally friendly, and connecting us to our city’s people and neighbourhoods as well as locations beyond our borders. We’re making more investments in our cycling network, and are committed to building Higher Order Transit, like light rail, along Hurontario from Port Credit to Brampton. We’ll continue to make strategic investments and re-order our priorities to make our goals under this Pillar a reality.

Our second Strategic Pillar for Change is Ensuring Youth, Older Adults and New Immigrants Thrive. This Pillar addresses the challenge of our changing demographics. Almost half of our population was born outside Canada. Over the next 20 years, our population of older adults age 55 and older will double to almost half of our population. You want an affordable and accessible city that attracts youth and supports aging in place, where culture is celebrated and our rich diversity is reflected in every aspect of our city. The actions under this Strategic Pillar for Change will make these desires a reality.

Our next Pillar, “Completing Our Neighbourhoods,” is about building a “complete” city where people inspire places and places inspire people. A “complete” community is where you can easily take care of your daily needs by walking, cycling or taking the bus. We heard during our conversation that our community wants vibrant “pedestrian first” communities that are walkable and connected, with great public spaces where everyone can celebrate Mississauga’s unique and diverse qualities and culture. The goals in this Pillar aim to deliver a “complete community”.

Our next Pillar “Cultivating Creative and Innovative Businesses” will connect employer needs with the skills and talents of our citizens. Our goals under this Pillar will create new opportunities for learning, help new immigrants to apply their skills and encourage small-scaled businesses through innovative partnerships and by fostering a creative business culture.

Our final Pillar “Living Green” is about our environment Our final Pillar “Living Green” is about our environment. It affects all aspects of life, and environmental issues, such as climate change, are on everyone’s mind today. We want Mississauga to be a leader in environmental action by conserving and enhancing our natural environments, leading and encouraging environmentally responsible approaches and promoting a green culture.

Over 200 actions have been identified in the Action Plan We are already working on 94 actions The Plan contains the details of how we will deliver on our vision for the city To make the Strategic Plan come alive a complementary document, the Action Plan has been created. Each Strategic Pillar for Change is connected to specific action items that propel the Plan forward. Over 200 actions are identified in the Action Plan and we are already working on 87 of those actions. The Action plan is a work in progress as more information and detail are added as the City develops and implements the actions in the plan. The conversation with our community and stakeholders will continue as we modify and monitor our targets along the way

The Strategic Plan holds the top position on the City’s Planning Framework. It guides and informs our Official Plan and supporting studies. As well, our City’s service business plans and budget supports the Plan and helps to set priorities for spending and investment. For City staff, the Strategic Plan guides the “Building a City for the 21st Century” Strategic Priority, and will help us assess if a project or task supports our Strategic Plan.

A report on the status of achieving the actions identified in the Plan For Council and the public to demonstrate our progress An annual report each spring will allow for revisions to the Action Plan We heard over and over again through our conversation that our community wants action. What gets measured gets done, and so we’ve committed to preparing a progress report each year to show our movement forward.

Our first progress report was presented to Council in June 2009 and can be found on our Strategic Plan website. It describes the actions that have been launched and the actions that have been completed.  The next report will be available in the late Spring 2011 for the actions in 2010"