Alexander Vaughan Fraser (June 22, 1916 – May 9, 1989) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. Fraser began his career as a businessman in the central

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

town of

Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...

, located in the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was the ...

region. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he enlisted and served in the

Royal Canadian Army Service Corps The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) was an administrative and transport corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Army Service Corps was established in the Non-Permanent Active Militia in 1901 and in the Permanent Active Militia in 1903. ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

from 1942 until his discharge in March 1946.Hansard, 34th Legislature
/ref> Fraser came from a political family. His father, John, served in both the provincial legislature and

federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

. Fraser himself began his own political career in 1949, when he was elected as commissioner of Quesnel. In 1950 Fraser was elected reeve (later

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

) of Quesnel, a position he held for the next twenty years. During that time he served both as president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and chairman of the

Cariboo Regional District {{Infobox settlement , name = Cariboo , official_name = Cariboo Regional District , other_name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = , nickname = , sett ...

. Fraser moved from local to provincial politics in 1969, winning the Cariboo riding for the

British Columbia Social Credit Party The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing provincial political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For fou ...

. In 1986, Fraser became ill and was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

. He lost his voice after surgery in June, but ran in the election that same year. Eventually his

forced him to resign a few months before his death. Fraser was a prominent member of the cabinets of Premiers

Bill Bennett William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. He was a son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, ...

and

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991. Early life Wilhelmus Ni ...

, serving as the province's Minister of Transportation and Highways a cumulative total of eleven years between 1975 and 1986. The

Alex Fraser Bridge The Alex Fraser Bridge (also known as the Annacis Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the Fraser River that connects Richmond and New Westminster with North Delta in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. The bridge is named for Alex Fraser (19 ...

over the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

(the river named for the explorer, Simon Fraser, and not the politician) is named in his honour. Part of

Highway 91 The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil * SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia Highway ...

, the bridge links the municipalities of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

. The Alex Fraser Research Forest was created in 1987, and named in his honour. The Research Forest is operated by the University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry, and is located east of Williams Lake. A park in Quesnel is also named for him.

References

External links

Information
from the

Royal British Columbia Museum Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Alex 1916 births 1989 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian people of Scottish descent Cariboo people Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Deaths from throat cancer Mayors of places in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Canadian truck drivers Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Royal Canadian Army Service Corps soldiers