Sarnia—Lambton

Sarnia—Lambton stretches along the southeastern shore of Lake Huron, encompassing the city of Sarnia, the town of Petrolia, and surrounding communities in Lambton County. The riding sits at the southern tip of Lake Huron where the St. Clair River forms the international boundary with Michigan, and its economy has long revolved around the dense concentration of petrochemical refineries and chemical plants known as Chemical Valley. Rural portions of the riding include the agricultural townships of Enniskillen, Dawn-Euphemia, and Brooke-Alvinston, as well as the Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

Candidates

Marilyn Gladu (Conservative) — A professional engineer who spent twenty-one years at Dow Chemical in Sarnia, where she oversaw more than 250 chemical plants around the world, Gladu later served as engineering manager and director of engineering at Suncor, overseeing the billion-dollar Genesis Project. She also held a consulting role at WorleyParsons before seeking public office.

Jason McMichael (NDP) — A vice-president of the Sarnia and District Labour Council, McMichael graduated from the University of Windsor and worked as a golf professional before becoming active in the local labour movement. He served on the Bluewater Health Foundation board and volunteered with Lambton County Developmental Services.

Dave McPhail (Liberal) — A longtime educator and community leader in Sarnia, McPhail was involved in local civic causes, including efforts to prevent the closure of the Sarnia Jail. He won the Liberal nomination in May 2015 over former city councillor Elizabeth Wood-McDonald.

Peter Smith (Green Party) — A retired professional engineer with a background in nuclear engineering, Smith worked seventeen years at Polysar and another decade at TransAlta before settling permanently in Sarnia. He was active with Amnesty International and served on the board of St. Clair Child and Youth Services.

About the Riding

Sarnia—Lambton's identity is inseparable from Chemical Valley, one of Canada's largest concentrations of petroleum refining and petrochemical processing. Major employers include NOVA Chemicals, Imperial Oil, Suncor, and Shell, and the sector has historically sustained thousands of well-paying industrial jobs. By 2015, however, the riding was contending with ongoing employment losses in the petrochemical sector, as automation and global competition eroded the local workforce. Environmental concerns also figured prominently: Chemical Valley contributed a significant share of Sarnia's particulate air pollution, and nearby communities, including the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, had long raised health and safety concerns about industrial emissions. Agriculture remained a secondary economic pillar across Lambton County, with cash-crop farming and livestock operations spread through the rural townships south and east of Sarnia. The riding had been held by the Conservatives since 2006, when Pat Davidson won it from the Liberals, and was considered a competitive seat heading into the 2015 campaign.