Sarnia is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and had a 2011 population of 72,366. It is the largest city on Lake Huron and in Lambton County. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flows into the St. Clair River, which forms the Canada-United States border, directly across from Port Huron, Michigan. The city's natural harbour first attracted the French explorer La Salle, who named the site "The Rapids" when he had horses and men pull his 45-tonne barque "Le Griffon" up the almost four-knot current of the St. Clair River on 23 August 1679.This was the first time anything other than a canoe or other oar-powered vessel had sailed into Lake Huron, and La Salle's voyage was thus germinal in the development of commercial shipping on the Great Lakes. Located in the natural harbour, the Sarnia port remains an important centre for lake freighters and oceangoing ships carrying cargoes of grain and petroleum products. The natural port and the salt caverns that exist in the surrounding areas, together with the oil discovered in nearby Oil Springs in 1858 led to the massive growth of the petroleum industry in this area. Because Oil Springs was the first place in Canada and North America to drill commercially for oil, the knowledge that was acquired there led to oil drillers from Sarnia travelling the world teaching other nations how to drill for oil.The complex of refining and chemical companies is called Chemical Valley and located south of downtown Sarnia. The city has the highest level of particulates air pollution of any Canadian city because of its reliance on the petrochemical industry. Lake Huron is cooler than the air in summer and warmer than the air in winter; therefore, it moderates Sarnia's humid continental climate, which makes temperature extremes of hot and cold very rare. In the winter, Sarnia experiences large amounts of lake-effect snow because Arctic air blows across the warmer waters of Lake Huron and condenses to form snow squalls once over land.Culturally, Sarnia is a large part of the artistic presence in Southern Ontario. The city's International Symphony Orchestra is renowned in the area and has won the Outstanding Community Orchestra Award given by the Detroit Music Awards in 2011. Michael Learned graced the stage of the Imperial Theatre for a 2010 production of Driving Miss Daisy. The largest event that happens in Sarnia is Sarnia Bayfest, which is a popular music festival that takes place during the summer. In 2013, organizers cancelled the event because of money troubles but look forward in 2015 to combining with the International Powerboat Festival and presenting a joint event.
Area metro (m2)
799870000.000000
Founding date
1856-06-19
1914-05-07
Leader title
Governing Body
MPPs
MPs
City Mayor
Motto
(Latin for "Sarnia Always")
Sarnia Semper
Population metro
89555
Population total
72366
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