Laurie Hawn

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Laurie D. Hawn

Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office 2006
Preceded by	Anne McLellan

Born	May 11, 1947 (1947-05-11) (age 61) Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	Conservative

Laurie D. Hawn, CD, MP (born May 11, 1947 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Air Force (1964-1994) , business person, and federal politician from Edmonton, Alberta. In the session of Parliament following the 39th general federal election of January 23, 2006, he is the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre and was sworn in on February 6, 2006. On October 10, 2007 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence.

He ran as a Conservative candidate in riding of Edmonton Centre in the 2004 federal election. He lost by 721 votes to Anne McLellan, the Liberal Deputy Prime Minister.

In the 2006 federal election he ran again, defeating McLellan by a substantial margin of 7% for an urban swing riding. Mr. Hawn also sits as the Edmonton Caucus chair within the Conservative Caucus, promoting Edmonton issues and stakeholders to the current Conservative Government.

In October, 2007, Mr. Hawn was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, the Hon. Peter MacKay. Mr. Hawn took over the position from Russ Hiebert (MP from Surrey-White Rock), who was moved to the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio. In the Canadian parliamentary system, Parliamentary Secretaries act as a liaison between the government and House of Commons. Parliamentary Secretaries will attend events and announcements in lieu of the minister, and are also responsible for representing the government at House of Commons committees.

At the riding level, Mr. Hawn has been quite aggressive in being an active and well-seen Member of Parliament. According to reports, Mr. Hawn has attended over 650 events in just 20 months. Due to the high profile nature of the previous MP (Hon. Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister), Mr. Hawn has clearly worked hard to keep his name up in the community. With his work as Chair of the Edmonton Caucus, Mr. Hawn has acted as an advocate for Edmonton issues and needs, with some notable funding successes, including monies for the Royal Alberta Museum and many other local community projects.