Three candidates ready to run in Sarnia-Lambton Bkjewanong

Canadians will go to the polls April 28.

That’s after Prime Minister Mark Carney went to the Governor General Sunday, to ask her to dissolve Parliament and call an election after just nine days in office.

This election will look different in Lambton County.

In Feb. 2023, The Electoral Boundaries Commission announced changes to the riding boundaries. A study is completed every 10 years and the ridings are adjusted to make sure there are roughly the same number of people in each riding.

Before the election call, Lambton had two ridings; Sarnia-Lambton and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. The boundary commission pulled Lambton County together in the Sarnia-Lambton Bkjewanong riding.

Three candidates have already been declared candidates here; Marilyn Gladu, Lo-Anne Chan and Brian Everaert.

Gladu was first elected as a Conservative MP in the 2015 election which brought Justin Trudeau. If she wins, this will be her fourth term as MP.

Lo-Anne Chan, an entrepreneur who has lived in Sarnia for a decade, was declared the NDP candidate last year. She ran in the municipal election in 2022.

And Everaet, a founding member of the Peoples’ Party of Canada led by Maxime Bernier, will represent the party for a third election. Everaert, an iron worker, has also run for the Ontario Trillium Party provincially and for mayor of St. Clair Township in 2018.

The Conservatives won both the former Sarnia-Lambton and Lambton-Kent Middlesex ridings with 46 and 42 per cent of the vote.

Voter turnout in Ontario in federal elections is higher than provincial votes; over the last four federal election, voter turnout topped 60 per cent with the highest recent voter turn out in the 2015 election.

45th Federal General Election will be held Monday, April 28 with advance polling Friday, April 18, Saturday, April 19, Sunday, April 20 and Monday April 21.