Sandra Pupatello

Sandra Pupatello (née Pizzolitto; born October 6, 1962) is a politician in Ontario, Canada.

She became politically active by campaigning for Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Herb Gray in the 1970s.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor (1986).

She remained in the city after her graduation, serving as general manager of the city's Rotary Club and executive director of the Essex County Kidney Foundation of Canada.

She was also a board member of the Windsor Regional Hospital and Windsor Regional Children's Centre and was president of the Fogolar Furlan Club.

She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, serving as a cabinet minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty.

Pupatello was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1995 provincial election, defeating New Democratic Party candidate Arlene Rousseau by 5,526 votes in Windsor—Sandwich.

The seat had previously been held by New Democrat George Dadamo, who did not seek re-election.

The Progressive Conservative Party won a majority government in the election, and Pupatello entered the legislature as an opposition Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP).

During her first term, she served as Official Opposition Critic for Community and Social Services, Children's Issues, Youth Issues, and the Management Board of Cabinet.

Pupatello was named "Italian of the Year" for Windsor-Essex County in 1996, received the Charlie Clark Award for Outstanding Service from the University of Windsor in 2001, and was named "Windsor Woman of the Year" in 2003.

Pupatello was co-manager of Dwight Duncan's 1996 campaign to lead the Ontario Liberal Party.

Like Duncan, she supported Gerard Kennedy on the final ballot.

In 1997, she introduced a Private Member's Resolution intended to stop cutbacks to hospital funding.

She later criticized the Progressive Conservative government's plans to introduce a private MRI clinic, arguing that it posed a long-term threat to public health care.

Pupatello was re-elected by a landslide in the 1999 provincial election for the redistributed constituency of Windsor West, while the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a second consecutive majority government.

Pupatello remained a member of the opposition frontbench, serving over the next four years as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Official Opposition Critic for Health and Long-Term Care.

She was a vocal critic of the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves governments, frequently criticizing cutbacks to child care and other programs.

The Liberal Party won a majority government in the 2003 provincial election, and Pupatello was again re-elected in Windsor West with a significant majority.

On October 23, 2003, she was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Community and Social Services with responsibility for Women's Issues.

In March 2004, Pupatello announced $2 million to assist low-income Ontarians with increased hydro bills.

In June, she announced $10 million to help Ontarians with physical disabilities modify their houses and cars.

Pupatello introduced a 3% social assistance rate increase in 2004, the first such increase after twelve years of freezes.

There was some speculation that she would be appointed Deputy Premier as well, but this position was instead left vacant until George Smitherman's appointment in 2006.

Pupatello was spoken of as a possible candidate for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party when Dalton McGuinty was to retire in 2006.

Pupatello's most important responsibility in the Community and Social Services portfolio was overseeing Ontario's welfare and disability assistance system.

Shortly after taking office, she announced that her government would remove a lifetime ban on welfare recipients who are caught cheating on their applications.

Pupatello described the rule as counterproductive, in that many welfare officials were reluctant to bring forward charges out of concern for the extreme punitive consequences.

She also announced that her government would take greater steps to find parents who are delinquent with child support payments.

She did not run in the 2011 provincial election and took a position as director of business and global markets at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

On November 8, 2012, Pupatello announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Ontario.

On January 26, 2013, she lost to Kathleen Wynne on the third and final ballot.

Afterwards, she returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Pupatello served as chair of Hydro One from 2014 to 2015.

Pupatello made an unsuccessful attempt at returning to elected office in 2019 when she stood as the federal Liberal candidate in Windsor West.

She placed second behind New Democratic Party incumbent Brian Masse by a margin of 1,922 votes.

In the subsequent 2021 Canadian federal election, Pupatello again stood as the Liberal candidate in Windsor West.

She again lost to Masse by an expanded margin of 8,032 votes.

Pupatello is married to Jim Bennett, a former leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party.

Pupatello was born Sandra Pizzolitto in Windsor, Ontario.