Remembering Mississauga’s Edna Toth

Edna Toth (1931-2025) was a long-time resident of Mississauga who always put her community first. A Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient in 2012, Edna was an award-winning journalist and an advocate for those less fortunate. Born Edna Usher in Banbury, England, in 1931, she began her journalism career apprenticing with a weekly newspaper chain in England. Upon her arrival in Canada in 1955, she began work at the Northern Daily News in Kirkland Lake, progressing to positions with The Canadian Press in Toronto, the Toronto Telegram, and a new newspaper, the Vancouver Times. Edna met Mike Toth, also a newspaperman, in Vancouver, and they married in 1966. A job offer prompted their relocation to Mississauga in 1967. Edna and Mike raised their four children here in Mississauga. Edna later became publicity director for the Mississauga Library System and returned to the newspaper business with the Brampton Guardian before retiring. Edna and Mike were also friends and supporters of Heritage Mississauga and the Mississauga Sports Council over the years.

HM President Douglas Hanock and Edna Toth, recipient of the Heritage Volunteer Award, 2018

In 1998, the Peel Poverty Action Group was established by the Social Planning Council of Peel. In 2010 Edna began volunteering with PPAG because “I had energy and needed something to do. I had completed a degree in Women’s Studies and History at University of Toronto (Mississauga) in 2010 and learned that PPAG was operating. I became Chair, and adopted a reporter’s technique: what’s going on, who is involved, what needs doing, who should do it.” Through her work with the PPAG, Edna was also involved with Peel Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee and with the Knights Table.

Edna founded Tough Times, a tabloid newspaper, reporting on and advocating for, more housing, more money and more assistance for individuals living in difficulty in Peel Region, and through Tough Times, developing a support network with other Peel organizations:

Mike and Edna Toth at The Credits, 2018

Edna’s message to her fellow Mississauga residents resonates loudly today: “Poverty doesn’t just happen to drug addicts, crooks, ne’er-do-wells. It can happen to you. Knights Table reports that 71% of its clients do not have a criminal history. But talk to the diners there, and you’ll learn about devastating accidents, sometimes at work. Or a family split. Or just not being able to get a job. They deserve better. Everybody does.”

Edna helped produce “Spaces and Places,” a 2009 documentary on homelessness in Peel Region along with a number of local anti-poverty advocates and researchers and produced by York University. The message in the video truly, and sadly, is as relevant today as it was then:

Even though she never sought the spotlight, Edna was a recipient of the Peel United Way Community Builder Award and was recognized as the City of Mississauga Citizen of the Year (the Gordon S Shipp Memorial Award) in 2011. In 2018, Edna was recognized with a Heritage Volunteer Award at Heritage Mississauga’s The Credits awards gala.

Mike and Edna Toth with Mayor Bonnie Crombie, courtesy of the Mississauga News

Edna dedicated decades of persistent, energetic and positive effort to support anti-poverty initiatives, and to develop supports for women, children and families in our city who had limited life opportunities. Through her role as Chair of the volunteer PPAG, she has advocated for more public interest and action to help people who are homeless, families who are struggling, and single mothers trapped in poverty. She also campaigned to end corporal punishment of children in schools, for free dental care for seniors and children, for the rights of women, and to help to be a voice for people who are homeless. Through her caring and tireless efforts on behalf of our community, Edna certainly left her mark on Mississauga.