About

The Independent of Petrolia & Central Lambton is an award-winning community weekly newspaper.

Founded in 2013, the staff of The Independent strive to provide the region with stories about their neighbours and how government decisions affect their lives.

The staff of The Independent has won dozens of awards for their work, including Best Small Newspaper in Ontario four out of the last six years, was named the Best Small Newspaper in Canada in 2015. 

The paper has also received the prestigious Canadian Journalism Foundations Jackman Award of Excellence for investigative reporting in 2018 and the Canadian Association of Journalist’s Hugo Rodrigues Award for Community News.

Publisher-Editor Heather Wright is a journalist with over 35 years experience and is an award-winning photographer and investigative journalist who worked and lived much of her life in Lambton County telling the stories of the people in her community.

Blake Ellis is a journalist with two-and-a-half decades of experience. Blake joined The Independent in 2022.

Cathy Dobson is a long-time Sarnia journalist with decades of experience reporting on municipal politics. Cathy joined The Independent in 2024.

Marlene Bain, our sales associate,  is a life-long resident of Lambton County. Marlene has been working in the newspaper industry in Sarnia and Lambton County for decades. Marlene joined The Independent in 2024.

Val Tanner is our graphic designer. She attended Fanshawe College for graphic design and has been working in the industry for 12 years.

The Independent uses artificial intelligence for task such as spell checking and transcription of audio interviews, however it does not accept advertisements created with AI, choosing instead to employ local graphic designers to create ads for our customers.