Catherine Anne Fraser (born August 4, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and judge who was the chief justice of

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 ...

from 1992 until July 30, 2022. As chief justice of Alberta, Fraser was also chief justice of the

Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories The Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories in Canada is the highest appellate court which hears appeals from criminal cases and civil cases of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and justic ...

(since 1992) and the

Nunavut Court of Appeal The Nunavut Court of Appeal (NUCA; , Inuinnaqtun: ''Nunavunmi Apiqhuidjutainut Uuktuffaarutit'', french: Cour d'appel du Nunavut) is the highest appellate court in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its positions consist of ''ex officio'' justic ...

(since its creation in 1999).

Early years

Fraser was born in

Campbellton, New Brunswick Campbellton is a city in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada. Situated on the south bank of the Restigouche River opposite Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Campbellton was officially ...

and moved to Edmonton in 1958. Her mother worked as a teacher and her grandparents were immigrants from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. One of her first jobs was working in the women's section of a department store; she was paid $35 a week, five dollars less than her male colleague who worked in the men's section. Fraser stated in a 2014 interview with the ''Edmonton Journal'' that "it brought home to erthe differences in how men and women were being treated during that era in our society." She also stated that she chose the law as a profession because she saw it as a "vehicle for change" and because she was "concerned about inequality in society." A graduate of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, she received

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degrees in 1969 and 1970 respectively. She received the George Bligh O'Connor Silver Medal in Law, awarded to the law student graduating with the second highest GPA over the three-year program. She also has a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Career

Prior to her appointment to the bench, Fraser practised law with the firm of Lucas, Bishop and Fraser, and became

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1983. She taught women and the law courses at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. First appointed to the

Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta The Court of King's Bench of Alberta (abbreviated in citations as ABKB or Alta. K.B.) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Alberta. Until 2022, it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. The Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary wa ...

in 1989 and subsequently to the Court of Appeal of Alberta in 1991, she became the first woman appointed Chief Justice of Alberta on March 12, 1992. At age 44, she was also the youngest person appointed Chief Justice of Alberta. Fraser was also on the Canadian Institute on the Administration of Justice, chair of the Education Committee of the

Canadian Judicial Council The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC; french: Conseil canadien de la magistrature) is the national council of the judiciary of Canada, overseeing the country's federal judges. The Council has 41 members, composed of chief justices and associate chi ...

and a member of the council's Special Committee on Equality in the Courts. Due to Canadian mandatory retirement for justices at age 75, Chief Justice Fraser's term would have ended on August 4, 2022. However, Chief Justice Fraser retired effective July 30, 2022. No replacement has been announced.

Awards

She was recognized with a YWCA Tribute to Women Award. In 1996 she received th
University of Alberta Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award
On May 10, 2007, she received an Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

degree from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

.University of Calgary website

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Catherine Living people People from Campbellton, New Brunswick People from Edmonton Judges in Alberta Judges in Nunavut Judges in the Northwest Territories Canadian women judges Canadian King's Counsel University of Alberta alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta Alumni of the London School of Economics 1947 births Canadian women lawyers University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni