Albert Benjamin Rutter "Bert" Lawrence MC (March 31, 1923 – March 28, 2007) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. 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. Background Lawrence was born in Calgary, Alberta, and grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. He was educated at Ashbury College and at Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He enlisted in the army with the rank of Lieutenant in the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment (VIII Recce). He landed in Normandy in the first week of July 1944. 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 was injured twice including during V2 rocket attack near Antwerp in October 1944. Lawrence reflected on his narrow escapes from death. He wrote in his journal, "Keeping alive consists of 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent soldiering." He returned to action in February 1945 and participated to the end of the fighting. He was promoted to captain at the end of the war. When he returned home he acquired a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School. He graduated in 1948 and went to work for an Ottawa firm called Honeywell, Baker, Gibson, and Wotherspoon. He married Lois Davidson in October 1949 and they raised four children. He died in Gatineau, Quebec in 2007. Politics In the 1950s he was elected to Gloucester, Ontario town council for two terms. In the 1956 Federal Conservative leadership convention he organized the campaign for Davie Fulton. While there was little chance of winning, his wife Lois said that he enjoyed immensely. She said, "They were so young, it was like they were lambs to slaughter. It was absolutely all-absorbing for what seemed like a month. There was huge hoopla and excitement." In the 1963 provincial election, Lawrence ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Russell. He narrowly defeated Liberal candidate Fred Barrett by only 413 votes. In 1967 he ran in the redistributed riding of Carleton East. He defeated Liberal Eugene Bellemare by a comfortable margin of 4,221 votes. He was re-elected in 1971. In 1969, Ontario Premier John Robarts brought Lawrence into the cabinet