Lorenzo Berardinetti

Lorenzo Berardinetti (born 21 October 1961) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest.

Background Berardinetti was born in Scarborough, and is a lawyer by profession. He attended the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor Law School, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1988. On October 25, 2010, Berardinetti's then-wife Michelle won election as a Toronto City Councillor. They married in 2004 and divorced in 2018. The Liberals won a majority government under Dalton McGuinty in this election, and Berardinetti was appointed the deputy government whip on 23 October 2003. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, and 2014.

In 2004, he introduced a private member's bill, to outlaw what he called "gender-based pricing," whereby prices for equivalent or similar products and services, such as clothing, dry cleaning and haircuts, may vary between women and men. He contended women were charged much more for many products and services. The bill reached only second reading before it died on the order paper.

During his time in the government, Berardinetti was a Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour (2010-2011) and PA to the Attorney General (2011–2018).

Berardinetti lost his seat in the 2018 provincial election, finishing third in the riding of Scarborough Southwest.

Later life In 2022, Berardinetti attempted to return to city politics, running for a seat on Toronto city council in the ward of Scarborough Southwest. He finished fourth in the election.

Shortly after his municipal defeat he suffered a seizure and was in a coma for a month. He could not find work after his 2018 defeat and was unable to work in the aftermath of his coma and depleted his savings as a result. He moved in with his brother in Ajax, Ontario in 2022 but left in 2023 after an argument over money and has lived in homeless shelters since then. In the summer of 2024, his neurologist gave him permission to work again and he is trying to establish a law practice. After news of his situation broke, he was able to raise over $25,000 from former colleagues across all parties, including his Progressive Conservative predecessor and New Democratic successor as MPP, Dan Newman and Doly Begum. It also led to suggestions that the MPP pension, removed in 1995 by Premier Mike Harris, be reinstated.

Election results 2022 Toronto municipal election: Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest

2000 Toronto municipal election Ward 37 - Scarborough Centre Lorenzo Berardinetti - 11,007 Colleen Mills - 3,203

1997 Toronto municipal election Ward 15 – Scarborough City Centre (2 elected) Brad Duguid – 15686 Lorenzo Berardinetti – 14179 Paul Mushinski – 9141 Betty Hackett – 4579 Russell Worrick – 3882 Ron Hartung – 743

1994 Scarborough municipal election Ward 4 Lorenzo Berardinetti - 5,551 Georges Legault Sr - 1,193

1991 Scarborough municipal election Ward 4 Lorenzo Berardinetti - 3,762 Kurt Christensen - 2,104 Costas Manios - 1,367 Ruth A. Lunel - 357

1988 Scarborough municipal election Ward 4 Lorenzo Berardinetti - 2,453 Kurt Christensen - 2,449 Glynwilliams - 1,936 Ward - 1,011 McDowell - 318 Georges Legault - 292