Thousands attend Hazel McCallion’s state funeral today

The state funeral for former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion took place today at 11 a.m. with thousands in attendance.

McCallion is described as a political powerhouse and known affectionately as “Hurricane Hazel”.

She died at her home on Jan. 29 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Family friend Jim Murray said she was only diagnosed around Christmas.

READ MORE: Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion dies at 101

The funeral was held at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, located at 5500 Rose Cherry Place in Mississauga. There was limited seating available for members of the public.

Political figures such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were in attendance.

The service was held on what would have been McCallion’s 102nd birthday.

Tickets were required to attend for crowd control purposes and were available through the Ticketmaster website.

READ MORE: Public tickets available Thursday for Hazel McCallion’s funeral

The government of Ontario first announced the release of tickets last week, but made more tickets available yesterday after the first round was claimed within an hour.

The state funeral was live-streamed on the Government of Ontario’s YouTube channel for those who were unable to attend in person, as well as live-streamed at the Living Arts Centre located at 4141 Living Arts Dr. in Mississauga.