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 9,075 ...

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

Duncan Cameron Fraser Duncan Cameron Fraser (1 October 1845 – 27 September 1910) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. He was born in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, the son of Alexander Fraser and Ann Chishol ...

, served as

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

'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 James Hamilton Ross (May 12, 1856 – December 14, 1932) was a Canadian politician, the third commissioner of Yukon, and an ardent defender of territorial rights. He is also considered to be the first resident of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. E ...

. He graduated from

Dalhousie Law School , mottoeng = "Law is the source of light" , endowment = , staff = , faculty = 119 , dean = Camille Cameron , head_label = , head = , doctoral = , students = 500 , city ...

in 1908, was called to the bar in 1911, and was named King's Counsel 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was sent overseas. He received two

field promotion A battlefield promotion (or field promotion) is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient ...

s and was awarded the

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

following the Battle of Vimy Ridge. During the war Fraser was appointed aide de camp to General Sir

Arthur Currie General Sir Arthur William Currie, (5 December 187530 November 1933) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who fought during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-wa ...

, commander of the Canadian Corps. After being

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in 1919, he joined the Canadian National Railway as a general solicitor. 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 The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes o ...

. In 1963, he was awarded $560,000 by the Supreme Court of Canada for 10,000,000 tons of granite taken from his property for use in the construction of the link between

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

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 John Whitney Pickersgill, (June 23, 1905 – November 14, 1997) was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitoba. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 19 ...

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 Canadian King's Counsel {{Canada-viceroy-stub