Glen was first elected to Strathcona County Council in 1998 as the Ward 7 representative and served four terms. On October 16, 2017 Glen was again elected as Council's Ward 7 representative for a four-year term.
Glen Lawrence is a man of integrity and believes in being approachable, being accountable and demonstrating a balanced approach to issues.
During his first four terms on Council, Glen was heavily involved in implementing a smoking ban within Strathcona County, which led the way for the rest of Alberta. Glen also sat on Council during the planning and development of Millennium Place and the Community Energy System, which is a centralized system that allows for efficient production and distribution of energy.
Glen has deep roots in Strathcona County. His family originally settled in the Ministik area in the Beaver Hills region in 1906. He continues to reside on his own quarter section in the same area within Ward 7.
Glen is a naturalist by heart and believes in living sustainably, bringing awareness to the importance of maintaining traditional values of caring for rural landscapes. Glen believes in conserving and integrating social, economic, environmental and cultural values into land use, and as generations and cultures change across Canada, he believes all communities must have the quality of life enjoyed today, through generations of the future.
Glen has worked in the education system within the County teaching both high school and adult courses. Glen has also worked as a technical advisor for Alberta Energy and is a successful self-employed home builder (Energy Smart Home).
One particular project Glen remains very active in is the Beaver Hills Initiative. For the past 15 years, Glen has volunteered his time as Chair of the Beaver Hills Initiative (BHI). Glen's leadership of the BHI Board members has been instrumental in the successful designation of the Beaver Hills as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in March 2016. Glen continues to lead by example placing a conservation easement on his own property in Beaver Hills.
Glen has rejoined Council with a deep interest in the need to ensure the County is ready and financially-equipped to deal with the legalization of recreation Cannabis and the future permitting of medicinal Cannabis facilities. He is also interested in the planning and development of the new multipurpose agriculture facility.
Glen will continue to champion representation for residents of Ward 7. Important issues include ensuring the future of agriculture, the protection of priority habitat areas, and water quality and waste management issues.
Glen likes to use the visual of a four-legged stool; balancing cultural, economic, environmental and social needs.