Alistair Fraser was the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the...

 from 1952 to 1958.

Fraser was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

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....

. His father, Duncan Cameron Fraser

Duncan Cameron Fraser

Duncan Cameron Fraser was a Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia....

, served as Nova Scotia's lieutenant-governor from 1906 to 1910 and had also been a Member of Parliament and a judge on the province's supreme court. He married Jane Ross, the daughter of James Hamilton Ross

James Hamilton Ross

James Hamilton Ross was a Canadian politician, the Yukon Territory's third Commissioner, and an ardent defender of territorial rights...

.

He graduated from Dalhousie Law School

Dalhousie Law School

The Schulich School of Law is part of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Formerly called Dalhousie Law School, it was established in 1883, making it the oldest university-affiliated common law school in the Commonwealth. It is the primary law school in Atlantic Canada and...

 in 1908, was called to the bar in 1911, and 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 practiced law in both eastern and western Canada until the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 when he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Expeditionary Force

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...

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

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 following the Battle of Vimy Ridge

Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...

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

Arthur Currie

Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...

, commander of the Canadian Corps

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 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...

.

After begin demobilized

Demobilization

Demobilization 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 military force will not be necessary...

 in 1919, he joined the Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

 as a general solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

. 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

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 the following year.

As lieutenant governor, Fraser officiated over the opening of the Canso Causeway

Canso Causeway

The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...

. In 1963, he was awarded $560,000 by the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 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

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

 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

Jack Pickersgill

John Whitney "Jack" Pickersgill, PC, CC was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitobia. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 1950s...

 in the 1960s and then served as Clerk of the Canadian House of Commons from 1967 to 1979.