Lawson was an active philanthropist most of his life, having sponsored the building of a library at the University of Western Ontario as early as 1933, and over the years creating various scholarships, trusts and contributing to charitable societies. In 1956, he established the Lawson Foundation, with assets of $2,000,000. The Foundation has since donated over $50 million to charities across Canada and in 2005 had an endowment of over $90 million.
