Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

[@CanadiansInCarsGettingCocky]

2021 Sarnia update - We have two bridges that span the St Clair. The second bridge was built in 1997. The old train tunnel was shut down. A new taller tunnel was built right next to it in 1995 so they no longer ferry rail cars across the St Clair. The Old CN building that kids use to jump off into the river became a Casino in 2000. My guess is this was Sarnia in the late 80's/early 90's. It's cool to see how much has changed and get a local history lesson!

[@mjeromee]

It's 1988. It says so in the credits.

[@endersothergame]

I was going to type an update as well in the face of all the comments posted here about how Sarnia has remained the same. You beat me to it.

[@CANControlGRAFFITI]

Place is a dump. Update: still a dump.

[@soilikebread6664]

@@CANControlGRAFFITI can confirm. Dump

[@ronwhitcroft7941]

@@soilikebread6664 are we refering to the place or the people?

[@jeanxu5697]

I came to Canada and Sarnia in 2010 from China and was surprised by the blue lake, river and sky. Couldn’t believe it is a more than 100 years old petrochemical valley. Love this small town.

[@rogerbelanger7990]

I am from Québec and l lived in Sarnia from 76 to 80 ,what a wonderful place

[@stevewight1409]

As a southern Ontario lifer I often forget the rich history of my surroundings....possibly it's partly due to it not being promoted n told as well as it is here....thank you for sharing this.

[@jimballard7217]

Does anyone remember standing on the metal stairs outside the control room for dow's solvents plant ( building 35 ) and looking north at the ten dollar bill scene ? Those iconic spheres at Polymer still stand out in my memory .

[@88Petry]

U must have worked there?

[@CannonFodder873]

Yep...River Rat (Revamp) from 1986 to 1994...Solvents, Vinyl, POD, Block 40...anywhere along the Polysar fence...got to see one of those babies on fire once...and was around for a couple of lovely explosions as well in their tank farm by Dow's front gate 🔥

[@Colin32269]

I was in there removing asbestos from the old powerhouse couple of years ago

[@jb1752]

This is amazing we are international students and we love Sarnia. Its nice to hear its history

[@alexapardo224]

Hi, it's possible you talk about the pros of live in Sarnia to international students? I really appreciate your time . Thanks

[@ghislainebernard6963]

Lived in Sarnia for 40 years, raised my family there, great city, wonderful peoples and proud of it... Thanks for sharing this video, brought tears of joy.... Loved it 👌😍

[@justinjackson9027]

people here suck fym boi

[@CANControlGRAFFITI]

Looks cancer inducing to live there

[@justinjackson9027]

@@CANControlGRAFFITI place sucks, people suck, old buildings. overrated city

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

Flash back to the late 80’s

[@demonpride1975]

i remember as a kid jumping off the old cement docks in the bay, many a year on july 1st watching the fireworks at the bay. growing up in sarnia back in the 70s was a blast.

[@Edensai]

Thank you so much for uploading this and sharing Sarnias history!!!!! This is so fascinating!

[@ronwhitcroft7941]

Nice was born at. St. Joseph's hospital January 13 1968. And when i turned 9 i was taken away because i apparently was bad. Boy i returned to my mom at 16 my father owned SUPERIOR AUTO BODY. in petrolia. I went to work for my dad for 7 years but i never felt my connection. I live in london now and when i reflect back i miss being young wish there was a way i could redo my life. Great people and. Mayor Bradley is a great pioneer of SARNIA those are my roots RON WHITCROFT

[@Colin32269]

Mayor Mikes a super pisstank lol

[@ronwhitcroft7941]

@@Colin32269 so would i but. He must do something bro ??

[@josephbagofcarrots168]

To see only one bridge is unreal

[@terryomalley1974]

I've lived in Sarnia off and on since 1987, around the time this video was made. Looking at the scenes of downtown from the river, what strikes me is how little sarnia has changed. The skyline.looks basically the same as it did when I first moved here. When I lived in bigger cities like Ottawa and Montreal and I'd come.back to Sarnia to visit my family, it always struck me how everything stayed the same. There's a certain comfort in that given the chaos and uncertainty of the world today.

[@justbeingj]

Thank you for uploading. Very informative video and relaxing to watch when I’m missing my hometown of Sarnia! 🙂

[@johnnathan7182]

Thanks for sharing

[@potter3439]

I moved here in 2016. Best decision I ever made in my life. Sarnia is a rockin great city and a great place to live. It’s also very beautiful here

[@johnprins4954]

Hello Harvey Potts This is John Prins sitting down in Mexico watching this video and recognizing home Sarnia is a great place to be raised and to live and I’m thankful for all the blessings of my hometown

[@potter3439]

@@johnprins4954 Brother John, can’t wait to see you back in the hall again when you get back. Good to be in The House of The Lord

[@potter3439]

@@johnprins4954 Haha, Johnny boy, I can’t wait until you get back my brother! I’m praying for you

[@williamjeffrey40]

I was born in St Josephs Hospital 73 years ago , and have lived here all my life .

[@aidentaliesin6641]

I was born at that hospital also, left at 2 yrs old

[@johnparke5880]

Hello there just stumbled upon this flick Worked with a loveiy guy from your place Russ mc cabe who worked with us at Butlins Ayr Scotland in 1986 Great guy we left that year to go grape picking in france mad as a brush old russ always wonder what happned to your man. Much love from kirkcaldy fife.

[@galekersey333]

I was born in Sarnia and very proud of my city!

[@marcyloucks6825]

I was born in sarnia Ontario but moved to leduc alberta. I miss living in sarnia

[@CANControlGRAFFITI]

Both not very nice places. Sorrry

[@chrismccarthy1455]

Wow. Venetian Village makes an appearance. My Dad built that and managed the condo until he passed. That big yellow unit was formerly occupied by Uffe Blok Andersen, a driving force in real estate development in Sarnia.

[@naomifox9337]

My husband and i live here born and raised. Been here long time

[@timc2346]

My hometown was about a hr south so know Sarnia well has changed a bit.

[@karenpotter4747]

Love Sarnia

[@AnEveryDayCanadian]

Very cool!!

[@kryptic_strawhat668]

Very Cool

[@alexhenderson6038]

Wish this was longer. I know there was a long pier from Point Edward that stretched out to the ship wreck, which was a footing for the pier. He mentions the flat land, and the Marina by the cove was just a gravel pit. I wonder if this is where the ships were built? The Grand Trunk Railway used to be there.

[@stevenbiggar4278]

Baby blue water,, beautiful city

[@jasvirsinghgill596]

nice

[@kenmcmahon.isitsetupforbip4765]

Me too and glad of it!!

[@adenalkinani2311]

same here!!!

[@wesleylovell4343]

Proud to be part of sarnia

[@maxtax8223]

the guy never mentioned the 1834 ish arrival of the Salter siblings from somewhere near Devon and not far from Sarnia ( Guernsey Island ) to Lambton County when he talked about the 1830's ... Salter became a noted surveyor ( was he a relative of Colborne ? )... 18:00 the oilman from oilfield hits it on the nail when asked if oilmen in the area ever got rich. His answer: No, but some land speculators sure did. Salter and the surveyors often worked for speculators ( Galt group, etc.. ) and drew maps of the sites they surveyed. They were the first on the scene and passed the information ( quality real estate vs junk ) to investment groups who had ( sort of ) insider information to base their speculations.. some surveyors were also land speculators... ..most of the top surveyor/engineers were part of the elitist families who trained in the best schools ( private schools - ie Canada College created by the Colborne and Galt groups ) ...

[@LilSnooze]

Home

[@brentobrien6642]

Very informative even though it's close to 40 years ago.

[@MARKNORMANDSINNERTHOUGHTS]

Sarnhole

[@davidfrost1428]

There’s one in every crowd

[@terryomalley1974]

@@davidfrost1428 Yep.

[@chrismccarthy1455]

Chris Hadfield, TV's Katherine Ryan, Star Trek's Scotty, Jimmy Doohan ( and his less well known brother Billy), Susan Clark from the TV show Webster, Kim Mitchell, comedian John Wing Jr. (his dad was a very prominent lawyer) so many more came from, or spent their formative years in Sarnia.

[@captlazer5509]

Check out the end credits. Brought to you by Polysar. Yep this was a PR film to cover things up. I do remember the late 80's in Sarnia. About this time there was a large chemical spill in the St Clair river. Those working in the petro chemical industry cleaning up the spill that sank to the bottom had "Blop Buster" stickers, so funny not caring in the least while poisoning people. Those unfortunate enough to live down river in Lake Erie had fish with large tumors. People ate those fish. I visited some friends doing some fishing on Pelee Island and can confirm first hand. Sarnia can seem nice but always had an under belly of evil.

[@mjayswaggson]

My girlfriend lives in Sarnia and I go there every weekend from Toronto so I know it pretty well so seeing this is kind of interesting 😁

[@christopherm5958]

I left when I was 13. Now at 59 in Vancouver I'm quite sure I made the right decision.

[@Futbucker1]

It’s a good place to work tho tons of money in the valley 🤷‍♂️

[@adamcoe]

100 percent you did my friend

[@PeterSmith-or3pq]

Good destination

[@randallgoulet1550]

Busiest waterway in the world?? Wow and first oil discovered in North America? That’s huge

[@88Petry]

Sarnia is unbelievably underrated

[@CANControlGRAFFITI]

It’s perfectly rated. C-

[@jenwilson5294]

@@CANControlGRAFFITI why's that?

[@nicolemarie2899]

Very cool

[@beavercreekpictures9809]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jwerkjy34rku2rkjoilj]

Is that Harvey Kirk ? I will say that Point Edward is beautiful

[@StellaBlue1969]

💗 proud Sarnian

[@kdscrapping4452]

where is the oil well in sarnia????

[@alexhenderson6038]

East Side Marios

[@RightInNiagara]

That's the AQUARAMA at 03:59

[@dofarmnoharm5080]

Nice I want to come to Sarnia is my love and my dream province neither aney chance to come Sarnia for job and settled please reply

[@Frazzo]

I left there in 1969 and have never set foot there again. No need to go back to Chemical Valley.

[@letswalkinthewoods1462]

Thanks for leaving 😢

[@Frazzo]

@@letswalkinthewoods1462 The pleasure is all mine.

[@Futbucker1]

Chem valley is full of money jobs tho lol

[@nannabou9437]

Nice to see it when I was around 11. Beautiful but very toxic. We used to spend our summers swiming in the festering 💩 filled Centennial Park. There was a floating restaurant that dumped poo directly into the water. I spent hours swiming and watching the dead carp and waste in the summer. Back then there was no drug problems as there is now. I got out. But many people I knew ended up with Cancer or dead from drugs. I love this though it was exactly the time when I was there. I remember school trips making us go to Petrolia these places. I absolutely hated it. 🙃 we used to jump off under the Blue Water Bridge and also jump off the 100 ft ships near the government docks. Not to mention train jumping att the CN tunnel. We used to run into it and out. So many memories. LOL. I'm surprised I'm not dead . Believe it or not we sneaked into the chemical Valley and used to climb the stacks. Awesome but dangerous childhood. This was 1988. I was 10.

[@Jake.MS3]

You should do Belleville Ontario?

[@CANControlGRAFFITI]

Should do it? Shit like 30+ years old mate

[@katrinahouston6249]

Looks like a nice city.😀

[@Jackie.Marie.S]

Yes it used to be, some areas still are.

[@jasvirsinghgill596]

hlo

[@sarathkm3686]

Very difficult to find a part time job here... everyone will say there are no vacancy

[@Colin32269]

Theres a million p/t jobs available here

[@sarathkm3686]

@@Colin32269 I'm staying in sarnia...it's been two months since I came here...I've been going to each and every restaurant and other business ventures to find a part time job... All are saying we are not hiring...then how millions of part time jobs are there in sarnia

[@tbarry4990]

Moved to Sarnia area in 2003. Wasn't sure what to expect ...... now a team of wild horses wouldn't be able to get me to move out of this area.

[@mikeprobyn9466]

LOL What year did this come out ??

[@ilox11]

The Credits show 1988

[@navjotsingh6124]

I am international student in sarnia and I love this city

[@toryjames5084]

None of those men discovered oil in what is now known as Petrolia or Sarnia indigenous people had been harvesting harvesting and reading that oil of the surface of the land 300 years before European settlements

[@SarniaNibbles]

2024 Sarnia Update -- Still an oil and gas town, and a great place to live!

[@issybella2056]

Sarnia is no better than any other city / shit hole town in Canada - full of chemicals, only difference, people have their toxic stories of great it was, totally unaware they are poisoned to death by some plant. I lived in Hamilton before trading in the polluted skies of the steel mills for chemical valley of Sarnia, then moved to London Ontario to attend univerity - where they manufacturer pesticides etc., now l live in Toronto that has its own toxic plants. Guess I should be happy l never lived in Ottawa - with the forever stench of bullshit from the toxicity on Parliament Hill.

[@anudaviskalapurakkal5670]

Sarnia Semper

[@letswalkinthewoods1462]

We still have the same mayor in 2022 .....🤣

[@gregwood363]

What a walk down memory lane. Haven't been there in 30 years

[@beavercreekpictures9809]

That's why I like the programs so much. Thanks!

[@mjayswaggson]

To anyone who is wondering, Sarnia is still pretty much the same in terms of looks. Way less traffic now though and way more crackheads LOL! 😅

[@cdnmetelhead4013]

Slight correction, it’s meth and opioids now.

[@dofarmnoharm5080]

And my good name is ajith

[@MrMaenambeach]

I was born and raised in Sarnia. Chemical valley gave me asthma. I left when I was nineteen and never looked back. Other than the nice beaches enjoyed by the rich people on Lake Shore road, the city is a big zero.

[@J.D.Whiteye]

hahaha

[@timg531]

Sarnia is still very white. Not for long I believe.

[@CanadasFoodieClub]

And now today, the ground under our feet here in Sarnia is so contaminated you cant plant a garden in your back yard because of the poisons in the ground, you have to have a raised garden to grow food to eat, the ground is contaminated with mercury and lead , we used to have huge concerts in the park but the grass is too poisonous for people to sit on , so they stopped concerts in the park from being allowed, now the city is full of drugs homeless people and crime rungs rapid, Jan 14 , 2022 Sarnia resident

[@terryomalley1974]

There are definitely too many junkies and homeless people, especially in the south end/downtown core. But, parts of the city are still fairly nice and livable.

[@grizzly8859]

Here in Ontario, we refer to this city as Sarnhole cause it a sh!thole. Only two good things ever came out of sarnhole....... me for one and two, the greyhound bus that I was on.

[@fit4u679]

😂😂😂

[@i.cuthbert1003]

This is so poorly researched. For starters...Sarnia borders on the Lake Huron.

[@one_eyed_guilly7016]

couldnt even make this in hd? 480p hasnt been a thing for like 10 years...also, are you going to show all the junkies too? sarnias an armpit at best these days

[@firedrake110]

I mean, this is from 1988, it's nearly 35 years old lol