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Lawrence was born in Somerset, England and went to work in a quarry at the age of 12 and became a shop steward in the mason's union at the age of 17. He entered politics running for election in Battersea in London.

He immigrated to Canada settling in Hamilton, Ontario with his family in 1912 and found work as a stone mason. He became involved in the local labour movement and was elected to city council as an Independent Labour Party alderman in 1922Events January 7 Dali Eireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes. January 10 Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dail Eireann January 11 First successful insulin treatment of diabetes. January 12 British government releases Irish prisoners. He ran as a Labour candidate in the 1925 Canadian election but lost his bid for a seat in the Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons (in French, la Chambre des communes is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of Canada which sits in the nation's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Leadership Prime Minister and Cabinet Under the Westminster system, the prime m though he came in second. He remained on city council and was elected to Hamilton's Board of Control in 1929 retaining his seat until 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne when he was elected to the Ontario legislature as the Member of Provincial ParliamentMember of Provincial Parliament is the designation used by members of the Legislative Assembly in the province of Ontario, Canada. This title came into use after World War II. Previously, members used the title 'Member of the Legislative Assembly' ( MLA). for Hamilton East, the first Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPP ever elected in Ontario. He was also the only CCFer elected in 1934 and was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1937. Lawrence then served for a time as President of the local Industrial Union Council and subsequently regained his seat on the Board of Control and kept it for six years until he was elected the first Labour Mayor of Hamilton in 1944. He was re-elected Mayor annually until his retirement from the office in 1949.

During his tenure as mayor the city went through the deeply divisive 85 day Stelco strike of 1946. The strike was the union's first and its victory established the United Steel Workers of America as a major force in Canada and also helped establish the right of Canadian workers to collective bargaining. Lawrence was publicly supportive of the strike and led a 10,000 person march from Woodlawns Park to the gates of Stelco. Despite pressure from the federal and provincial governments he refused to call in police or the military against the illegal strike and thus helped ensure its victory. When the federal government sent the army in, Lawrence angrily said that "the government was acting as the nation's chief strike breaker."

After stepping down as mayor in 1949, Lawrence continued on the Board of Control for six years until his retirement from politics.