Laurie was born on Mother's Day, 1947 and raised in Winnipeg.

He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1964 and received his pilot wings and Queen's Commission in Gimli, Manitoba in January 1967. He flew the T-33 Silver Star as an Instructor Pilot and as a Tactical Fighter Pilot and Instructor on the CF-104 Starfighter and CF-18 Hornet. In thirty years in the Air Force, Laurie rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and he served an additional five years as Honourary Colonel of 417 Combat Support Squadron. Laurie held many high profile senior staff positions, commanded a CF-18 Tactical Fighter Squadron and was the operational commander at 4 Wing Cold Lake, supervising six squadrons, 1,800 personnel, multi-million dollar budgets, and multi-billion dollar assets. He has served in Europe, the United States and throughout Canada.

Upon retirement in 1994, Laurie entered the financial services business. He has successfully opened and managed branch offices and held senior supervisory positions in this highly regulated and very demanding industry. He is a founding member of the Investment Advisors Association of Canada.

Laurie has been very involved in his community, no matter where he has lived. He has organized large-scale community projects, sat on various boards, represented service groups, volunteered for major events, supported educational institutions, and been a strong advocate for democracy and freedom. Laurie has been politically active for several years by writing letters to newspapers as well as to Cabinet Ministers. After years of encouragement from many quarters, Laurie finally decided, on January 3rd, 2003, that it was time to make the commitment to serve as a Member of Parliament. He was joined by a team of volunteers that was dedicated to electing a new representative in the constituency of Edmonton Centre.

In a hard fought but respectful campaign Laurie took on the sitting representative and Deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, in the 2004 election and came short by only a few hundred votes. Undaunted by this close race, Laurie and the team resolved to keep going and take another shot in the next election. In the mean time, Laurie continued his focus on trying to knock on as many doors as possible to hear what concerns people have and to make the case for change. Patience and hard work were rewarded on January 23rd, 2006 with a decisive victory over Ms. McLellan, and the opportunity to take a seat in Parliament as the representative of Edmonton Centre.

Laurie has been proud to be part of Canada's new government as it takes steps to reduce the tax burden on ordinary working Canadians, improve the accountability of government, and crack down on crime. In his own work as MP, Laurie has been appointed to the standing committee on National Defence, as well as the committee on Public Safety and National Security. Due to his extensive background in the Canadian Forces, Laurie has been well suited to his role and enjoys being involved in making decisions on the direction of the Forces.

Laurie has been married for 38 years to his wife Judy, and they have two children - Rob, 32, and Jennifer, 35.