About 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. McCallion was first elected mayor in 1978, defeating popular incumbent Ron Searle by about 3,000 votes. Her final term as mayor, won in the election of October 2010, was her twelfth consecutive term.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.