Who is Carrie McEachran, Sarnia’s newest candidate for mayor?

Carrie McEachran entered Sarnia’s mayoral race this week with a long résumé, extensive community connections and a name that may still be unfamiliar to many voters. McEachran has never served on Sarnia city council.

Carrie McEachran entered Sarnia’s mayoral race this week with a long résumé, extensive community connections and a name that may still be unfamiliar to many voters.

McEachran has never served on Sarnia city council. Most residents who know her are likely to recognize her as CEO of the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since May 2022.

But her career in Sarnia-Lambton began long before she joined the Chamber and spans social services, youth programming, community organizations, business advocacy and provincial boards.

McEachran is currently on leave from the Chamber while she campaigns for mayor.

Her professional biographies describe more than 25 years of experience in management and non-profit leadership.

She holds a developmental services worker diploma from Loyalist College, a non-profit management certificate from Western University and a master’s degree in leadership from Royal Roads University.

Before joining the Chamber, McEachran worked in leadership positions at Community Living Sarnia-Lambton and Pathways Health Centre for Children.

A profile published during the 2010 municipal election identified her at the time as director of Children’s and Respite Services at Community Living.

She later became executive director of Sarnia-Lambton Rebound, where she spent approximately six years leading an organization that provides programming and support for young people.

That work also connected her with a broad network of local social-service agencies, youth organizations and community groups.

McEachran has been involved with the Sarnia-Lambton Social Services Network, North Lambton Community Health Centre, physician recruitment efforts, Community Living Sarnia-Lambton and Rotary.

She is a former president of the Rotary Club of Sarnia and has held several leadership roles within the organization.

Her move to the Chamber in 2022 marked a significant change in her public role.

Instead of leading a youth-service organization, McEachran became one of the region’s most visible advocates for local businesses.

As Chamber CEO, she has spoken publicly about tariffs, workforce development, infrastructure, electricity capacity, downtown conditions and the challenges facing local employers.

The Chamber reported an 18 per cent increase in membership during 2024.

McEachran’s experience also extends beyond the local Chamber.

In April 2025, she was elected to the board of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, placing her within the province’s largest business advocacy organization.

She was named as a returning director for the Ontario Chamber’s 2026–27 board shortly before entering the mayoral race.

McEachran has also served on the board of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership and remains connected to several community and business organizations across the region.

Before taking over the Chamber, she created a women’s leadership and mentoring initiative known as The Female Revolution or F Revolution.

The project was described as helping women build leadership, management and workplace skills.

When the Chamber announced McEachran as its new CEO, it cited the initiative as part of her experience as a small-business owner.

The project is now largely absent from her more recent biographies, and its former website is no longer readily available. It is unclear whether it continues to operate.

McEachran was also involved in the creation of The Jean Collective, a local organization established to encourage more women to participate in politics and public leadership.

The group developed political education, mentorship, conferences and campaign-school programming aimed at helping women understand and overcome barriers involved in seeking office.

Founder Helen Cole has credited McEachran as one of the women who helped establish the original initiative.

McEachran remained involved through leadership interviews and public events and served as emcee for The Jean Collective’s 2024 women’s leadership conference.

This is not McEachran’s first election campaign.

In 2010, she ran for Catholic school board trustee, seeking to represent St. Clair Township, Dawn-Euphemia and East Kent.

At the time, McEachran was active with St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Corunna, Mooretown Minor Hockey, Rotary and other local organizations.

Her campaign included a call for Catholic schools to maintain a stronger religious identity.

“I would like to see more faith coming back into Catholic schools,” she said in a candidate profile published that year.

In addition to her work in the non-profit and business sectors, McEachran has received several provincial appointments.

She was appointed as a public member of the council governing the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers in 2021 and was later reappointed.

In 2023, she joined the Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity, which advises the provincial government on education, employment, training and economic opportunities for young people.

Her most recent appointment came this spring.

McEachran’s three-year term as a provincially appointed member of the Sarnia Police Service Board began March 26.

The board announced her appointment in early April, saying she was joining during a period when important strategic decisions were ahead.

The position placed her on the body responsible for civilian governance of the Sarnia Police Service.

Less than three months after her term began, she filed to run for mayor.

McEachran also has a long personal and community history in Mooretown and Corunna.

Her Ontario Chamber of Commerce biography identifies her as living in Mooretown, and the original provincial listing for her March 2026 Sarnia Police Service Board appointment also identified her location as Mooretown. The live provincial listing now says Sarnia, although it is unclear when that changed.

Taken together, McEachran’s background is broader than the title of Chamber CEO might suggest.

She has worked in developmental services, children’s services, youth programming, charitable leadership, business advocacy and provincial governance.

She has led organizations, operated a leadership venture, helped establish a group encouraging women to enter politics, served on local and provincial boards and previously run for elected office.

She has also built relationships across many of the organizations that interact regularly with city hall and other levels of government.

Most of her recent leadership experience has come through executive positions and appointed or organizational boards rather than elected municipal office.

She enters the mayoral race without a city council voting record on taxes, policing, housing, transit, labour relations, development or the environment.

McEachran is neither a complete newcomer nor a familiar council veteran.

She is an experienced institutional leader now seeking elected municipal office after a career spanning social services, community organizations, business advocacy and provincial appointments.