RESEARCH / SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY

Supporting our vibrant Catholic community

Support for Catholic education, clearer public commitments and practical partnerships that bring Mississauga together.

Mississauga Accountability and Transparency Coalition · Published 2026-10-17

AI-generated illustration supplied by Mississauga Accountability and Transparency Coalition. Conceptual classroom scene representing Catholic education in Ontario.

Coalition position and partnership proposals; clarification of merger position invited

Catholic schools have a place in Mississauga’s educational and community life. We support their Catholic identity and their commitment to learning, dignity and service. We also support stronger relationships between school communities and the neighbours around them.

At a time when public life feels increasingly divided, clear commitments help build trust. We should be supporting our communities, respecting the institutions people value and creating more opportunities to work together.

Our proposal is straightforward: support Catholic schools and strengthen partnerships across Mississauga.

Clear commitments. Stronger communities.

In October 2019, Alvin Tedjo’s Learning Together proposal called for merging Ontario’s public and Catholic school boards into English- and French-language systems. His campaign release described the existing system as “wasting billions of dollars to keep children apart.” It also proposed optional religious curriculum within the merged system. Read his original announcement.

He returned to the merger proposal in 2021. In Humanist Canada’s A One School System in Ontario webinar, Tedjo said he would keep advocating for the change and again outlined merging public and Catholic boards into English- and French-language systems. The recording was published on March 2, 2021. Watch his 2021 presentation, beginning at 38:28. Read the organizer’s event page.

His later comments belong in the record too. At the January 28, 2025 Dufferin-Peel board meeting, Tedjo explained that his earlier proposal aimed to streamline boards and direct more money into classrooms. Asked whether he supported publicly funded Catholic education, he answered “Yes.” Read the official minutes, pages 7–8.

In our view, this is a flip-flop in public messaging that undermines trust and risks deepening divisions in our community. Tedjo promoted merging the boards in 2019 and again in 2021, then told the Catholic board in 2025 that he supported publicly funded Catholic education. That reassurance does not answer the central question: will he defend separate Catholic school boards, or does he still want to merge them? Mississauga deserves a straight answer and consistent leadership that brings our communities together.

We invite Tedjo to clarify how his current position would support Catholic schools and advance partnerships across Mississauga. Residents deserve a clear explanation of whether his earlier merger proposal remains his position.

We need a Mayor that doesn't divide, but one that unites the vibrant communities that make Mississauga so great.

Build on what already works

Mississauga already has a concrete example of cooperation. Erin Meadows Community Centre and Library brings together the City, the Mississauga Library Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board in a shared-use facility. It gives us a local starting point for discussing where further partnerships could work. Read the City’s description.

Dufferin-Peel also offers community use of school facilities outside school hours, subject to permits, availability and applicable requirements. A useful first step is to help residents understand and access those existing opportunities. Explore community use of schools.

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