SEPT/OCT 2014
H
business elite canada 31
Sarnia, the largest city on Lake Huron, start-
ed its roots as Port Sarnia in 1857 and then
shifted to a massive railroad community, to
a manufacturing and petrochemical centre,
and today participates in a combination of
these activities and is pivotal to the nation’s
economy, being the gateway to the Canada-
United States border. The city houses large
refining and chemical companies and nurtures
a booming petrochemical industry, and under
the leadership of Mayor Mike Bradley, Sarnia
is active in driving the municipality’s economy
forward. Mayor Bradley, who is Chair of the
Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership – an or-
ganization responsible for economic develop-
ment in the region – has had a hand in growing
the city for the last 26 years and is in his 8th
term as a city leader. Mayor Bradley spoke to
Business Elite Canada about the city’s pivotal
year and roaring energy industry.
Being well established as an economy driven
by the petrochemical industry, the city aims to
build its future based on the industry that has
