Task 1: Where do I Live?

     “Where do I live?” The answer to this question makes a significant impact on every individual and for me that answer is Mississauga: the 6^th largest city in Canada and 3^rd in Ontario. Making up one of the three cities of the Peel region, Mississauga is one of the most diverse cities I have seen, and these are not simply my words. There are statistics to prove it. More than half of Peel’s population are visible minorities making it the highest proportion in the GTA at 56.8%. It is a constantly growing community both population wise and commercially bringing its own benefits and challenges to the table.

     The community of Mississauga has not changed too much since 2011, but a significant point to highlight is the population count. The population of this city has always been on the rise, and 2016 is not different. The population most certainly increased, but it is the parentage by what it did that is noteworthy. In the last five years, the population only increased by 1.1%, a significant decrease from the last census report which was 6.7%. In fact, this has been the lowest population increase in the last 35 years. This could be due to societal change amongst the community. Many women are becoming more career minded and would rather focus their attention towards these types of goals rather than raising a family. Another factor to take into consideration is that everything comes with a cost; so does a family. With inflation present, the cost of everything goes up including the price to raise a large family. Despite this, the population still rose, although less, and this could be due to the fact that Mississauga is an increasingly thriving business hub. The economic and social development for this community is an optimistic one which attracts businesses, families, and industrial development. All these factors kept into consideration can explain Mississauga’s population patterns.

    

     Every community has its challenges, but looking at Mississauga, these challenges are not specifically of much detrimental concern. Mississauga’s demographics are both unique and diverse, and although this is a positive factor it may also raise some potential issues. The Peel region which includes Mississauga has the highest percentage of visible minorities in the GTA. This means more cultures, ethnicities, and religions which can possibly create community conflict. These conflicts may revolve around the construction and location of cultural/religious institutions or places of worship. When it comes to population in concern to age and sex the demographics are even and quite well distributed as there is nearly an equal amount of males and females in Mississauga. The statistical information for age groups shows a larger younger population than older which usually does not pose much of a concern in a community other than the issue of employment. With so many people with similar credentials searching for a job, finding employment can become a struggle, and with this struggle comes the threat of poverty in many people’s lives.

     On the whole, the city of Mississauga has dealt with these possible challenges in a constructive manner. When it comes to the issue of cultural and religious conflict as 87% of this community does affiliate with a religious group, its society has approached these differences in a very positive way. For the most part everyone lives in peace and not only accepts, but appreciates each other. Something to highlight though is that this tolerance and harmony may also be due to the fact that majority of the population is a minority. Employment is certainly an issue amongst the working and middle class, and anyone living in this community today would say this. Especially with the recent minimum wage increase finding a job is increasingly difficult as business owners want to cut down their own costs. Despite this, the city of Mississauga has always expanded its horizons and continues to do so today. The community has built its own identity and has set itself commercially which, as mentioned before, attracts business into the city rather than out. This attempt at commercialization is hopefully a step closer to creating more jobs.