George Lawrence (March 21, 1857 – 1924)George Lawrence (1857-1924) on Manitoba Historical Society
/ref> was a Canadian politician who served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 1899 to 1915 as a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the government of

Rodmond Roblin Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and career Roblin was born in Sophiasburgh Township, Ontario, Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Ontario, ...

. Born in the county and province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the son of Noble and Sarah (Lyons) Lawrence, both of whom were natives of Ireland, he was educated in Zephyr, Ontario, and

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...

. In 1878 he moved to Manitoba to work as a farmer. In religion, Lawrence was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1892 provincial election, in the constituency of

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

. He lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent

Finlay Young Finlay McNaughton Young (2 April 1852 – 15 February 1916) was a Canadian senator. Born in St. Chrysostome, Canada East, the son of Duncan Young, he was educated at St. Chrysostome and Montreal. In 1879, he moved to Manitoba. A farmer, h ...

by 153 votes. He ran again in the 1899 election, and this time defeated Young by 140 votes. The Conservatives won a majority government in this election, and Lawrence served as a government backbencher. He was easily returned in the 1903 election, as the opposition vote was split between Liberal and

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

candidates. Lawrence was re-elected in the 1907 provincial election, defeating Liberal R.L. Richardson by 156 votes. He was again returned in the 1910 campaign, and was promoted to Roblin's cabinet on October 11, 1911, as Minister of Agriculture and Immigration. Lawrence was elected for a fifth time in the 1914 election, defeating Liberal

Samuel Hayden Samuel M. Hayden (October 6, 1858 – October 27, 1934) was a Canadian politician in Manitoba. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1915 to 1920, as a member of the Liberal Party. Hayden resided in Killarney, Manitoba dur ...

by 68 votes. He was retained in his cabinet portfolio for the legislative session that followed. In 1915, the Roblin administration was forced to resign from office after a report commissioned by the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

found the government guilty of corruption in the tendering of contracts for new legislative buildings. All ministers in the government, including Lawrence, resigned their portfolios on May 12, 1915. A new election was called, which the Liberals won in a landslide. Lawrence lost the Killarney constituency of Hayden, by 124 votes.

References

The story of Manitoba (Volume 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, George 1857 births 1924 deaths Canadian people of Irish descent Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Place of death missing Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba