  Supernovae are rare nearby, but they are not rare in the Universe, and all
past core-collapse supernovae contributed to the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino
Background (DSNB), for which the near-term detection prospects are very good.
The Super-Kamiokande limit on the DSNB electron {\it antineutrino} flux,
$\phi(E_\nu > 19.3 {\rm MeV}) < 1.2$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, is just above the
range of recent theoretical predictions based on the measured star formation
rate history. We show that the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory should be able to
test the corresponding DSNB electron {\it neutrino} flux with a sensitivity as
low as $\phi(22.5 < E_\nu < 32.5 {\rm MeV}) \simeq 6 $ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$,
improving the existing Mont Blanc limit by about three orders of magnitude.
While conventional supernova models predict comparable electron neutrino and
antineutrino fluxes, it is often considered that the first (and
forward-directed) SN 1987A event in the Kamiokande-II detector should be
attributed to electron-neutrino scattering with an electron, which would
require a substantially enhanced electron neutrino flux. We show that with the
required enhancements in either the burst or thermal phase $\nu_e$ fluxes, the
DSNB electron neutrino flux would generally be detectable in the Sudbury
Neutrino Observatory. A direct experimental test could then resolve one of the
enduring mysteries of SN 1987A: whether the first Kamiokande-II event reveals a
serious misunderstanding of supernova physics, or was simply an unlikely
statistical fluctuation. Thus the electron neutrino sensitivity of the Sudbury
Neutrino Observatory is an important complement to the electron antineutrino
sensitivity of Super-Kamiokande in the quest to understand the DSNB.
