5 Biggest News Stories of 2017 in Brampton

Published December 18, 2017 at 1:21 am

A lot has happened this year in Brampton! A Brampton MP was elected as a federal leader, we got a new connection to the subway, a popular mall underwent a huge transformation, and we’ve had some incredible events like new street food festivals and even a brand new fall harvest market.

We were even chosen as one Canada’s best places to live

It’s true that Brampton has seen both good and bad news in 2017. That being said, a mix of different news stories were popular in Brampton this year. But which stories were the most popular in Brampton from the beginning of January all the way until the end of December? 

New developments, wild moments caught on video, and breaking news all made the list of Brampton’s biggest news stories this year!

Here were the five biggest news stories in Brampton in 2017:


5) Brampton’s New University Partner Revealed Today

On March 14, 2017, after much excitement about Brampton’s upcoming university, Mayor Linda Jeffrey revealed that the new post-secondary institution in Brampton would be a partnership between Ryerson University and Sheridan College. It’ll be a very hands-on facility focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics—or “STEAM.” It has since been revealed that the campus will be located in downtown Brampton and could cost up to $150 million. The province will want to move forward fairly quickly with the project, with it likely starting in the 2020s. So, we’re still some years away.


4) BREAKING: Brampton’s Big Blue Monster House Set to be Demolished

In July, we learned that the massive “monster house” at 443 Centre Street was going to be demolished. The owner of the house, Ahmed Elbasiouni, volunteered to demolish the exceedingly controversial (some would say unsightly) property after a long legal battle. The 6,600 square foot half-finished home was an issue for both its height and size. As most people know, the eye-catching (to say the least) house stood out because it’s surrounded by much smaller bungalows and more understated homes. But the legal issue came down to building permits: it stood partially completed since the city revoked its building permits—permits it claims were issued in error. The dispute went on for four years. R.I.P “monster house.”


3) Brampton’s Shopper’s World Set to Undergo Massive Redevelopment

Recently, Shopper’s World welcomed a new wing in place of its old Target space, and all of the stores there are now open — JYSK, GoodLife Fitness, Giant Tiger, and a relocated Staples. But that’s not all that’s happening at Brampton’s beloved little mall. Ed Sonshine, RioCan REIT CEO, told The Globe and Mail that the mall is a “broken down, old mall built in the early ’70s that we’ve been trying to figure out what to do with.” Now, it looks like the company is working with the city to develop a master plan for the shopping centre. Sonshine told The Globe that the plan will include 300,000 square feet of retail—less than half of what the mall boasts now. It will also include, and this is probably the most interesting part, 1,500 residential units—the majority of which will be for rent. Big changes ahead!


2) Brampton’s Hospital Crisis

After a woman was stuck on a stretcher in the hallway at Brampton Civic for five days earlier this year and a whopping 4,352 patients were stuck on hallway stretchers at Brampton Civic during Code Gridlock (extreme overcrowding) for 65 days from January through April this year, often for anywhere from 40-70 hours at a time, the City and the Province had to respond to the fact that there are not enough funded beds at Brampton Civic to support our growing population. Now, 37 new beds are coming to Brampton Civic and Peel Memorial is set to turn into a full hospital — most would say, finally.


1) CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Jagmeet Singh Handles Racist Heckler at Brampton Event

It’s no secret that politicians are often heckled. Before former Brampton MPP Jagmeet Singh was the federal NDP leader, during his campaign back in September 2017, a woman harrassed him with racist comments. The event shows a woman accosting Singh on stage with an offensive and quite absurd rant about him being “in bed with Sharia” and the Muslim Brotherhood. Singh seemed unphased on the surface — after roughly four minutes of Singh and other attendees chanting “love and courage” and attempting to persuade the woman to leave, she voluntarily exited the area.

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