Laurie Evans

Laurie E. Evans (born October 14, 1933) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, representing the riding of Fort Garry for the Manitoba Liberal Party.

Born in Unity, Saskatchewan, Evans has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Manitoba. He worked as an agriculturalist before entering public life, and joined the Academic Staff of the University of Manitoba in 1958. From 1968 to 1969, he was a technical advisor to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in Kenya.

He is currently married to Mary Ellen Evans. He has three daughters from a previous marriage, Laura, Norma and Nancy as well as two stepsons Joseph and John.

Evans first ran for the provincial legislature in the provincial election of 1986, in the rural riding of Springfield (located just outside Winnipeg). He received 1376 votes, finishing well behind incumbent New Democrat Andy Anstett and the winner, Progressive Conservative Gilles Roch.

Two years later, he was elected in the central Winnipeg riding of Fort Garry (which includes the University of Manitoba), defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Charlie Birt by almost 1,000 votes. The Liberals increased their parliamentary representation from one to twenty in this election, and Evans sat with the official opposition for the next two years. In the provincial election of 1990, he was defeated by Progressive Conservative Rosemary Vodrey amid a general loss of support for the Liberal party. He has not sought a return to office since this time.