Lambton County

Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Clair and Chatham-Kent. Lambton County's northeastern border follows the Ausable River and Parkhill Creek north until it reaches Lake Huron at the beach community of Grand Bend. The county seat is in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming.

The largest city in Lambton County is Sarnia, which is located at the source of the St. Clair River at Lake Huron. The two Blue Water Bridges cross the river at Sarnia, connecting it to Port Huron, Michigan. The bridges are one of the busiest border crossings between the two countries. The river is also traversed by one passenger ferry further south, and a rail tunnel, also at Sarnia, runs underneath it. The CN rail tunnel accommodates double stacked rail cars. Along with Sarnia, the population centres in Lambton County are: Corunna, Petrolia, Grand Bend, Wyoming, Forest, and Watford.

thumb|Historical map that includes Lambton County (1875)

Lambton County started as a part of the District of Hesse. The district of Hesse included British territories west of Long Point (practically all of western Ontario). The district was later divided and renamed using English district names (Essex, Suffolk, Kent, etc.). Lambton was part of Kent county. In 1849 districts were abolished and the County of Lambton was formed. Lambton and Kent first shared the capital city of Sandwich (since renamed as Windsor, Ontario). In 1852 the partnership was dissolved and Lambton become a full county. It is named in honour of John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, who visited the area in the late 1830s.

Subdivisions

Lambton County consists of 11 municipalities (in order of population):

City of Sarnia
Township of St. Clair
Municipality of Lambton Shores
Town of Plympton–Wyoming
Town of Petrolia
Township of Warwick
Township of Enniskillen
Township of Brooke-Alvinston
Village of Point Edward
Township of Dawn-Euphemia
Village of Oil Springs

Independent First Nation reserves

Independent of the County, but located within the Lambton census division, are three First Nations reserves:

Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, in the Kettle Point area
Aamjiwnaang First Nation, located near many of the refineries in Sarnia's Chemical Valley
Walpole Island, near Wallaceburg

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lambton County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

right|thumb|The [[Blue Water Bridges]]

Infrastructure

Highways

ends in Sarnia at the Blue Water Bridge, where it meets at the U.S. border and connects with .

Emergency services

The County of Lambton Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provides land ambulance services to the residents of Lambton County. The County of Lambton EMS has stations in Brigden, Corunna, Forest, Grand Bend, Petrolia, Thedford, Watford, and two stations in Sarnia. Lambton EMS has ten ambulances and employs approximately 150 full- and part-time Primary Care Paramedics.

Policing is provided by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which has detachments in Grand Bend, Petrolia, Corunna, and Point Edward. The area of Kettle & Stony Point which is one of three native reservations in Lambton County, is policed by the Anishinabek Police Service (APS) but dispatched by the OPP. Walpole Island, another first nations reservation has its own police service, the Walpole Island Police Service. The remaining first nations reservation, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, which falls geographically within the City of Sarnia, is covered by the Sarnia Police Service.

Communities

Alvinston
Arkona
Brigden
Brights Grove
Corunna
Courtright
Forest
Grand Bend
Osborne
Petrolia
Port Franks
Port Lambton
Sarnia
Sombra
Thedford
Walpole Island
Watford
Wyoming