He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1974 who represented the ridings of Russell and Carleton East.
He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts and Bill Davis.
He was decorated with the Military Cross by King George VI for engineering a bridge in an advance action at the Risle River near Brionne, France.
He graduated in 1948 and went to work for an Ottawa firm called Honeywell, Baker, Gibson, and Wotherspoon.
"[1] In the 1963 provincial election, Lawrence ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Russell.
[5][6] In 1969, Ontario Premier John Robarts brought Lawrence into the cabinet as minister without portfolio.
Lawrence felt that the current system was unfair to consumers as judgments were applied unevenly.
While he felt this would benefit consumers he did not push hard on the issue due to his mindfulness of Ontario Insurance companies.
He defended the trip because he met with Cuban government officials and said that he had opened a number of doors.