"It's time for a strong voice in Windsor."
And with that message, Sandra Pupatello officially announced her campaign to seek the federal Liberal nomination in Windsor West.
The former Windsor West MPP made the announcement Friday at the Fogolar Furlan Club.
The 56-year-old was the Liberal MPP in the riding from 1995 until 2011, when she did not seek re-election. She held several cabinet positions, including the Minister of Economic Development and Trade from 2009 to 2011.
She also ran for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in 2013, but lost to Kathleen Wynne.
Pupatello tells CTV News she wanted to return to politics because Windsor-Essex has lost its voice in Ottawa, and she feels she can bring it back because of her experience.
"I feel like I have done it, I have done provincial, and I have certainly done the private sector and it's hard, and it's been hard to stay on the sidelines, watching where I don't feel we have a strong enough voice and I want to bring a strong voice to Ottawa," says Pupatello. "it's been missing, It's been missing for a while."
Pupatello highlights a number of her achievements while spending 16 years at Queen's Park including eight years as a cabinet minister. She points to the Herb Gray Parkway project as the first to include a community benefits package in Windsor-Essex.
When Pupatello left politics in 2011, it took the community by surprise, but she says it was the right time.
"For the City of Windsor, we had ticked off the list of everything that we were to deliver, and I really wanted to try the private sector, try new things," says Pupatello.
As part of her experience, Pupatello highlights the renegotiation of NAFTA as a key issue she's happy the Liberals were leading, suggesting the Conservatives wanted to "roll over" and calling the NDP anti-trade.
Pupatello also recognized the other two candidates seeking the Liberal nomination in Windsor West but says if she wins, she will give voters an option that supports trade and can bring a voice to the government table instead of representatives in opposition.
Melinda Munro and Hsiao d'Ailly are also seeking the Liberal nomination in Windsor West.
Pupatello says she supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even though the ethics commissioner this week found he violated the Conflict of Interest Act for improperly pressuring the attorney general to intervene in the prosecution of SNC Lavalin.
"I think Prime Minister Trudeau is about jobs and that is my cup of tea, that is the kind of thing we need here in Windsor," says Pupatello. "I am going to be one of his biggest supporters."
Pupatello says she's an option for Conservatives who feel uneasy about leader Andrew Scheer and stressed voting for an NDP candidate likely means Scheer as prime minister.
Whoever wins the Liberal nomination would be up against incumbent New Democrat MP Brian Masse, Henry Lau of the Conservatives, and Darryl Burrell of the People’s Party of Canada.
The federal election will be held Oct. 21.
