This week, Matthew welcomes back Omar El Sharkawy as they discuss Mississauga’s Council decision to keep the name Dundas in Mississauga and the historic, present, and future impact of this decision.

Matthew and Omar explore the history of the naming of the street, the controversy around renaming Dundas, and the possible implications of renaming such a historic street.

They also look at Dundas Street’s place in how we understand the historical landscape in Ontario, Mississauga, and the GTA.

Omar El Sharkawy is a recent graduate of the history program at the University of Toronto. His interests are in the histories and historiographies of the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and world revolutions, with particular attention to themes of decolonization. In late 2020 until April of 2021 he underwent a project on the colonial connections of road names in Mississauga, under the oversight of historian Matthew Wilkinson of Heritage Mississauga.

You are invited to email us questions you have about Mississauga and we encourage you to send a short (less than 1 minute) MP4 video of your question, which we may feature in one of our “Ask a Historian” videos.

Any questions not featured in our videos will receive a written response from Matthew.

We would also love to feature questions from young Mississauga residents who are curious about their city and will feature a dedicated video to these inquisitive kids.

Send your questions to us at: [email protected]