Sarnia—Lambton

Sarnia—Lambton occupies the southwestern tip of Ontario, centred on the city of Sarnia at the point where Lake Huron narrows into the St. Clair River. The riding extends south through Lambton County to include the communities of Petrolia, Oil Springs, Plympton-Wyoming, Point Edward, and parts of the Township of St. Clair, with the Blue Water Bridge connecting Sarnia to Port Huron, Michigan.

Candidates

Pat Davidson (Conservative) — Davidson was first elected to represent Sarnia—Lambton in 2006, defeating the incumbent Liberal. Before entering federal politics, she had a lengthy career in Lambton County municipal government, serving as mayor of Wyoming and later of Plympton-Wyoming, and was elected Warden of Lambton County for an unprecedented five terms. In Ottawa, she was known for her willingness to break with party orthodoxy, publicly opposing the Canadian asbestos industry.

Brian White (NDP) — White was a Sarnia-area community activist and storyteller who ran as the NDP candidate in the riding. A Sarnia native, he was involved in local documentary filmmaking and community advocacy.

Tim Fugard (Liberal) — Fugard carried the Liberal banner in the riding in 2011.

Christopher Desormeaux-Malm ran for the Christian Heritage Party, and Tim van Bodegom represented the Green Party.

About the Riding

Sarnia had a population of approximately 72,000 as of the 2011 census, with the broader census agglomeration reaching nearly 90,000. The riding’s economy is dominated by the petrochemical sector: the stretch of refineries and chemical plants south of Sarnia known as “Chemical Valley” hosts more than 60 facilities operated by companies including Shell Canada, Imperial Oil, and Suncor Energy. Major pipelines carry Alberta crude to Sarnia for refining and processing, making the area one of Canada’s most concentrated industrial corridors.

Beyond petrochemicals, agriculture is central to the county’s economy. Lambton County contains over 2,300 farms working nearly 600,000 acres, with soybeans, wheat, and grain corn as the primary crops. Lambton College, based in Sarnia, serves as the region’s main post-secondary institution.

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is located within the riding, adjacent to Chemical Valley. Environmental and public health concerns related to industrial emissions were a recurring local issue. The riding also encompassed several smaller rural communities with roots in Ontario’s earliest oil industry—Oil Springs and Petrolia were home to some of North America’s first commercial oil wells in the 1850s and 1860s. As of 2011, the riding’s population skewed older than the national average, and the local economy was navigating a transition as employment in both the petrochemical and agricultural sectors had declined in preceding years.