Born in London, Ontario, he was the son of Francis Edgar ("Frank") Lawson, a former newspaper reporter, and Lorena Hodgins, a former teacher.

In 1913, he borrowed heavily to purchase the shares held by the Jones family and, at the age of 26, became the company's president, director and major shareholder.

In addition to printing druggists' labels and calendars, in 1916 Lawson & Jones entered into a profitable arrangement to manufacture cigarette packaging for Imperial Tobacco.

In 1947, Lawson purchased the Oakville lakeshore estate, “Ballymena” that was previously owned by William Fletcher Eaton, to have a suitable residence close to Toronto and for use in his capacity as Lieutenant Governor.

Lawson was an active philanthropist most of his life, having sponsored the building of a library at the University of Western Ontario as early as 1933, and over the years creating various scholarships, trusts and contributing to charitable societies.