Robert Arnold "Butch" Fischer (June 9, 1937 – August 9, 2020) was a Canadian provincial level politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

from 1982 until 2001 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. He was investigated for a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

in 2001 that led to his resignation. During his time in office he served in a couple of different cabinet portfolios under the

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

government.

Early life

Robert Arnold Fischer was born June 9, 1937, in Irma, Alberta to George Everett Fischer and Marjorie Lillian Dutton. Fischer would marry Marian Annette Smallwood on February 21, 1959, and have five children together.

Political career

Fischer ran for a seat to the

in the

1982 Alberta general election The 1982 Alberta general election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Less than four years had passed since the Progressive Conservatives won their landslide victory in 1979. Premier Peter Lou ...

. He won a comfortable plurality defeating Bill Veitch from the Western Canada Concept and three other candidates to hold the Wainwright provincial electoral district for the governing Progressive Conservative party. He ran for his second term in office in the

1986 Alberta general election The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. He won a greater percent of the popular vote but a slightly reduced plurality. He still defeated the other three candidates comfortably. Fischer faced off for the second time against Liberal candidate Joe Vermette and New Democrat Willy Kelch in the

1989 Alberta general election The 1989 Alberta general election was held on March 20, 1989, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Many political observers were surprised by the early election call as less than three years had passed since the previous ele ...

. He would win his third term easily despite his total popular vote slipping for the second straight election. Fischer would stand for re-election to his fourth term in office in the 1993 general election. He would fend off three other candidates in the race and for the first time in three elections Fischer saw his popular vote increase. Premier

appointed Fischer to the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typical ...

for the first time on September 15, 1994. He would become the new Minister of Public Works, Supply, and Services. On May 31, 1996, he was shuffled to the Minister of Transportation and Utilities portfolio. He would have ministerial advantage for running for his fifth term in office in the

1997 Alberta general election The 1997 Alberta general election was held on March 11, 1997, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Ralph Klein's Conservatives were re-elected, with increased number of seats in the Legislature. Liberal Official Opposition los ...

. His personal popularity continued to climb and he almost won his district with a landslide. After the election Fischer would not return to cabinet. He would run for his final term in office in the

2001 Alberta general election The 2001 Alberta general election was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The incumbent Alberta Progressive Conservative Party, led by Ralph Klein, won a strong majority for its tenth consecutive term i ...

. Despite not having a cabinet portfolio he won the election, seeing Jerry Barber from the Alberta First Party finish second. He resigned his seat on December 31, 2001, after being investigated for a breach of ethics regarding a private business deal.

Death

Fischer would die on August 9, 2020.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Robert 1937 births Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs 2020 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 21st-century Canadian politicians