Hazel McCallion

Hazel Mary Muriel McCallion was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga. First elected in November 1978, McCallion was mayor for 36 years until her retirement in 2014, making her the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. She was a successful candidate in twelve municipal elections, having been acclaimed twice and re-elected ten times. She was nicknamed "Hurricane Hazel" for her outspoken political style with reference to the hurricane of 1954, which had a considerable impact. When the 1979 Mississauga train derailment occurred early in her tenure, she helped oversee evacuation of 200,000 residents from the resulting explosion, fire, and spill of hazardous chemicals.