Ottawa lottery winner helping to put Christmas dinner on the table

After winning $70 million, an Ottawa woman is doing as much as possible to make sure families in her community don’t go without groceries. CTV’s Leah Larocque reports.

An Ottawa multi-millionaire is giving back to the community in the best way she knows how.

“The hardest thing right now I find for most people, it’s not just the bills, it’s the price of groceries. It is astronomical,” says Patricia (Patty) Warden. “I’m in a position to give back.”

On Monday, Warden handed out hundreds of gift cards to shoppers at the Greely Foodland. Warden says she was inspired to do this after hearing that many families can’t afford to have a Christmas dinner this season.

In total, Warden estimates she handed out more than $20,000 worth of gift cards Monday afternoon alone.

Warden won the $70 million Lotto Max in May 2024. She says the money was life-changing.

“I get to help a lot more people, which was my goal. It’s life-changing in the aspect of being able to do more for others, but for my personal self, it hasn’t changed at all. I’m still Patty. I always will be, Patty,” she says.

“That will never change.”

Since her win, she has been giving gifts of generosity to those in need. She says this is because she knows firsthand what it is like to go without.

“There was quite a time where some traumatic things happened to me,” she says. “Then, I found out I had cancer. And then, when I got better, instead of being smart and picking up my life where it left off, I ended up downtown on drugs. I was homeless for some time, sleeping on a park bench.”

She says she owes her recovery to her mother, who helped her rebuild her life. “Integrity, caring, self-respect, respect for others. These are all the things that matter the most. And you can’t put a price on that. $70 million is nothing compared to that.”

Warden says she has been sober for 30 years.

Shoppers at the Foodland in Greely showed genuine surprise when given the gift cards.

“I’m stunned. That’s amazing. It’s a great gift, but I definitely will pay it forward for somebody. I’m more than happy to accept it, but I really want to give it to somebody who really could use it,” says Marjorie MacKinnon.

Alex Tousignant also says she will be paying forward the act of kindness.

“It’s just hard when I know that we have money to pay for our groceries and other families don’t. So, it’s hard to feel deserving,” says Tousignant. “But I know we can find somebody who really needs it and really can’t buy their groceries this year.”

Warden says she will continue to do small and big acts of kindness as much as she can.

“I want to share my happiness,” she says.

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