Sandra Pupatello 'leaning toward' Ont. Liberal leader race

Former cabinet minister and Windsor-West MPP Sandra Pupatello told CBC's The Early Shift that she's "leaning toward" entering the Ontario Liberal party leadership race.

Pupatello left politics in2011 to pursue a career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as the director of business and global markets.

She's now considering leaving the company that she says has been "very supportive."

"Clearly I'm leaning that way, and I'm feeling good about that, but there are still variables for me," said Pupatello.

'I get that fire going all over again and I think how can I not do this' Sandra Pupatello

Pupatello said she plans to sit down with her husbandthis weekend to discuss how life would be if she became the premier of Ontario.

She said her husband is telling her to "do this thing" and jump back into the political ring.

Pupatello may be slightly relieved thatFinance Minister Dwight DuncanannouncedWednesday that he won't be running for Liberal leadership.

She said it would have been "problematic" to run against Duncan.

"The folks that have always supported us have supported both us," said Pupatello. "It's been Dwight and Sandra, not Dwight versus Sandra. There's quite a bit of unsettled feeling if that were to happen."

She said her decision to run is based solely onthe province'seconomy. She believes an election is on the horizon within the next year and opposing parties "are not talking about the economy and it's all that matters right now."

"I get that fire going all over again and I think, how can I not do this?" said Pupatello.

But she said a lot of thought has gone into who she may face in the Liberal leadership race.

"Then I have to step back and be very practical. Am I really the best one compared to these terrific people, all of whom I've worked with?" said Pupatello. "How much better am I than them to make this big personal change again?"

'You need to have someone with a tremendous amount of experience ... to take this on' Sandra Pupatello

The $6-billion deficit left for the Liberals by the Tories in 2003 was considered insurmountable, but "that's nothing compared to what they're dealing with now," Pupatello said.

"These are big challenges and you need to have somebody with a tremendous amount of experience and heft, if you will, to take this on," she said.

The Ontario Liberal's plan to hold a leadership convention in late January to replace Dalton McGuinty, who resigned as premier on Oct. 15.