Laurie’s roots in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock go deep. She was born and raised in Kinmount and attended local schools, building deep roots in the community. Laurie’s father Bill proudly represented local families as their Member of Parliament for 28 years, and Laurie credits her father for instilling within her the ideal of public service, and the importance of giving back to your community.

After graduating from Loyalist College, Laurie worked as a Registered Nurse in Toronto before returning to the Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, eventually progressing to serving local families as an intensive care nurse. During this time Laurie also became increasingly active in her community by volunteering in roles that ranged from the Kinmount Fair Board to the Kinmount and Kawartha Lakes Doctor Recruitment Committee. During her career, Laurie has also had international assignments as a Registered Nurse.

In 2003 Laurie chose to follow in her father’s footsteps and seek election as her community’s next MPP. Laurie was successful in her election bid, becoming only one of two new Ontario PC MPPs elected in what an otherwise challenging year. Laurie’s hard work in the community was reflected in her re-election campaign which saw her re-elected with an even larger margin of victory.

As an MPP Laurie fought hard for local families and successfully spearheaded drives to change MPAC regulations, keep government service offices open in our communities, and expand access to vital health care services such as Family Health Teams. She also worked hard to expand the jobs available for local families, fighting for 1-to-1 apprenticeship ratios and the passing of new legislation to expand job opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

Following the October 6, 2011 election, Laurie was appointed the PC Critic for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Women’s Issues.

When she is not working, Laurie enjoys outdoor sports such as skiing and skating. She is also an animal lover and enjoys riding horses and helping her two teenage nieces in their competitions. A volunteer with the Canadian Hearing Society, Laurie has a working knowledge of basic sign language and remains interested in doing more to help individuals with disabilities fully participate in our communities.

The highest honour of her career has been to represent her neighbours as their local MPP, and she looks forward to continuing in that role.

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