Alistair Fraser (March 15, 1885 – January 24, 1964) was the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, from 1952 to 1958. Fraser was born in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 ...

."Alistair Fraser, MC winner served in vice-regal post", ''Globe and Mail'', January 25, 1964 His father, Duncan Cameron Fraser, served as

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

's lieutenant-governor from 1906 to 1910 and had also been a Member of Parliament and a judge on the province's supreme court.Duncan Cameron Fraser parliamentary biography
/ref> He married Jane Ross, the daughter of James Hamilton Ross. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1908, was called to the bar in 1911, and was named

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1921. After his death, a fund was established by his estate to provide a scholarship in his name to the Dalhousie Faculty of Law. Fraser practised law in both eastern and western Canada until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when he enlisted in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

and was sent overseas. He received two field promotions and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

following the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

. During the war Fraser was appointed aide de camp to General Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 19 ...

. After being demobilized in 1919, he joined the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

as a general

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. He was promoted to commission counsel in 1923, assistant general counsel in 1929 and then vice-president of the traffic department. He held that position until his retirement in 1951. He was appointed viceroy of Nova Scotia the following year. As lieutenant governor, Fraser officiated over the opening of the Canso Causeway. In 1963, he was awarded $560,000 by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

for 10,000,000 tons of granite taken from his property for use in the construction of the link between Cape Breton and the Nova Scotia mainland. Fraser sued after the federal government only offered him $5,500 in compensation. Fraser's son, also named Alistair Fraser (1923–1997), served as executive assistant to federal cabinet minister Jack Pickersgill in the 1960s and then served as Clerk of the Canadian House of Commons from 1967 to 1979.http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=137005&rec_nbr_list=137005

Awards and decorations

References

1885 births 1964 deaths Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Lawyers in Nova Scotia Lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia People educated at The John Lyon School People from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia Politicians from Pictou County Canadian King's Counsel {{Canada-viceroy-stub