Laurie Throness (born 1958) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in the 2013 provincial election. He represented the electoral district of

Chilliwack-Kent Chilliwack-Kent was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada that existed from 2001 to 2009 and again from 2017 to 2024. Between 2009 and 2017, it was replaced by the Chilliwack-Hope riding. In ...

as a member of the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

. After making controversial remarks regarding the NDP's free contraception plan, he resigned from the BC Liberal Party caucus on October 15, 2020. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2020 BC general election. Before becoming a politician, Throness earned a place at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he studied for a PhD in history. After Cambridge, he went on to publish a book in 2008 on the theological origins of the

Penitentiary Act 1779 The Penitentiary Act 1779 ( 19 Geo. 3. c. 74) was a act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1779 which introduced a policy of state prisons for the first time. The act was drafted by the prison reformer John Howard and the jurist Will ...

. Throness was previously the party's candidate in the electoral district of Chilliwack-Hope in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 2012, following the resignation of Barry Penner, but was defeated by

Gwen O'Mahony Gwen O'Mahony (born November 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, who represented Chilliwack-Hope in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from April 2012 until April 2013 as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, and is now ...

of the

New Democrats New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United State ...

. He defeated O'Mahony in the 2013 general election, capturing 49.15% of votes cast compared to her 36.01% share of the vote. The BC Conservative candidate received 10.77% of the votes, and the Green Party candidate received 4.07%. In government, he served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Corrections and in Opposition he served as the Official Opposition Critic for Children and Family Development. He was elected to the Chilliwack School Board in 2025 via a by-election.

Political views and controversy

Throness has leaned towards conservative political and social views, and has made anti-LGBTQ comments. In July 2020, he defended advertising in the socially conservative Christian lifestyle magazine, The Light Magazine. The magazine routinely hosts articles supporting conversion therapy, which attempts to "convert" individuals to a heterosexual orientation and treats same sex attraction as a mental illness. Throness was defiant, stating "he would advertise in the magazine again because it aligns with his values as a “Biblical Christian” and it’s an important way to reach his constituents." In an online all-candidates meeting on October 14, 2020, prior to the

2020 British Columbia general election The 2020 British Columbia general election was held on October 24, 2020, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 42nd Parliament of British Columbia, 42nd parliament of the Canadian ...

, Throness compared the NDP's plan for free birth control to

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

, the discredited theory of selective mating for "desirable" traits. Throness was quoted as saying "And maybe they’ll have fewer babies so there will be fewer poor people in the future. And to me, that contains an odour that I don’t like and so I don’t really support what the NDP is doing there and that’s my answer.” Following his comments he was removed from the BC Liberal Party's candidate slate, but continued to campaign for reelection as an independent before being defeated by NDP candidate Kelli Paddon.

Electoral record

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Throness, Laurie BC United MLAs Members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Living people 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 1958 births