Heather Wright/The Independent

Tourism officials are hoping Sarnia-Lambton’s 15 minutes of fame during a popular CTV reality show will turn into tourism dollars in the future.

Tuesday, an episode of The Amazing Race Canada which was shot in Sarnia-Lambton May 7, aired. Tourism Sarnia-Lambton Interim Executive Director, Adam Veen, says opportunity came in late 2025.

“They’re always scouting for new locations, trying to find interesting places throughout Canada, and we actually had a contact suggest our regions,” says Veen.

“We’ve done some great marketing campaigns with Destination Ontario and that obviously sparked and kept it fresh in their mind when they were having discussions with the Amazing Race and the CTV team that Sarnia-Lambton would be a great option for one of the episodes in the season.”

Once CTV gave the green light for the Sarnia-Lambton trip, Veen, the staff at TSL and dozens of volunteers who were helping with the program, had to keep silent.

“It’s been almost eight months to airtime, so we had to keep it under under wraps for quite a while,” he says.

Veen simply gave producers some ideas of places to go and then connected with them when they were done.

Included in the episode is a trip to Point Edward’s Purdy’s Fisheries, the Oil Museum of Canada in Oil Springs, Grand Bend’s beach and the cricket pitch at Mike Weir Park in Sarnia.

Photos of the shoot started trickling out over the weekend from CTV and by Tuesday, people were setting up watch parties for the event.

Veen, who is a fan of the show, said he watched the show featuring Sarnia-Lambton with friends.

While it’s nice to see your hometown showcased, Veen is hopeful this Amazing Race shoot will turn into some amazing tourism dollars.

“This is amazing exposure for the whole region,” he says. “I really hope it showcases us to a new audience.”

Veen says the show has “ amazing numbers” with an average audience weekly of 1.3 million people.

“I believe the Canadian version has a stronger and more dedicated following than the original American version, which is amazing to see,” he said.

He adds the show attracts a wide demographic of viewers as well, which could bring more people here.

“It’s going to across Canada, we’re going to reach some new eyes on Sarnia-Lambton, and hopefully, we’re going to spark some interest to create some travel itineraries and visit the area, whether they want to try and mimic The Amazing Race locations or find somewhere new to come and visit,” Veen said.