Guarnieri was educated at McGill University, where she graduated with a master's degree in English. As part of her thesis, she wrote a book called The cheese on the moon: a collection of short stories. After graduating she worked for the federal government as a spokesperson for Bob Kaplan[1] and also as a press liaison office for Stuart Smith, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.[2] In 1981, she worked as an assistant to Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton but left after seven months "because of a disagreement".[3] In 1984, she worked for Lowther Consulting, a company owned by Jim Coutts who was a principal secretary for Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau.[4] She and her husband live in Mississauga.
Politics
In 1988 Guarnieri was nominated in the new riding of Mississauga East after a fractious contest with another candidate, Armindo Silva. Silva contended that the vote, which Guarnieri won by a margin of 71, was marred by 'irregularities and improprieties'. He vowed to contest the result with the party's nomination board. The party hired police officers to control the crowd due to threats made against Guarnieri.[5] The nomination board upheld the vote despite "deeply disturbing" voting irregularities but this decision was overturned by the Ontario party's executive board.[6] A second, less contentious vote was held which Guarnieri won by a much wider margin.[7]
She also served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. She also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
In September 2010, Guarnieri announced that she would not seek re-election due to being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[9]