The 13^th Annual Sam Sharpe Breakfast

About

The annual Sam Sharpe Breakfast brings together Parliamentarians from all parties, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Veterans, First Responders, mental health advocates, and friends from across Canada. Together, we gather to hear from impactful speakers and honour the service & sacrifice of those who keep our country & communities safe.

Bio

First elected to the House of Commons in 1908 and again in 1911, LCol Sam Sharpe was the sitting Member of Parliament for Ontario North at the start of WWI. He organized and raised the 116th Battalion (Ontario County), which he commanded during its operations in the field from February 1917 to December 1917. LCol Sharpe and his unit were held in reserve for the assault on Vimy Ridge and fought at Hill 70 and Passchendaele.

After suffering mental injuries at the front, he returned to Canada and died by suicide on 25 May, 1918, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. His death saddened and shocked the residents of Uxbridge and Southern Ontario, where he was a well-known public figure and community leader. As MP John Currie, himself a Great War Veteran said in the House of Commons, “No finer comrade in arms could any man have than the late Colonel Sharpe” (17 March, 1919).

KEYNOTE
SPEAKER

Laurie White (retired Sgt, Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
While stationed in Kitimat, B.C. in 1998, Laurie was shot in the right leg by a sex offender wielding a sawed-off .303 rifle.  Damage was so severe that her leg had to be amputated 5 inches below her knee.  After only ten months of rehabilitation, Laurie passed the P.A.R.E. (the RCMP’s physical test) and made an unprecedented return to full, unrestricted general policing duties with a prosthetic leg.

When Laurie retired from the RCMP in 2020, she achieved a 22+ year goal of publishing her memoir (“10-33  An Officer Down Steps Back Up”).
Laurie has been a sought-after speaker since 1999.  She candidly shares her experiences as a first responder navigating mental health issues and life with a permanent physical disability.  While Laurie’s journey began as one of trauma, loss, and grief, it evolved into one of hope, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.

Laurie is also the recipient of several awards, including the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal, as well as the medal of Valour from the International Association of Women in Police.

RSVP