Roy Fraser Elliott, was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 lawyer, supporter of the arts, and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

.

Born in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, a son to Colin Fraser Elliott (at one time, the Deputy Minister of Finance of Canada) and Marjorie Sypher, he earned a Bachelor of Commerce

Bachelor of Commerce

A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...

 degree in 1943 from Queen's University

Queen's University

Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...

, a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 (LLB) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

 in 1946, and a Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1947. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1946 and the Quebec Bar in 1948. He started Stikeman Elliott

Stikeman Elliott

Stikeman Elliott LLP is a Canadian corporate law firm. It is known as one of the "seven sisters" in Toronto and has approximately 500 lawyers in five Canadian offices as well as offices in New York, London , and Sydney. It was founded in 1952 by H...

, specializing in tax and corporate law, with H. Heward Stikeman in 1952. Stikeman Elliott became and remains one of the largest and most successful law firms in Canada. Fraser convinced the former premier of Ontario

Premier of Ontario

The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...

, John Robarts

John Robarts

John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...

, to join the law firm's small Toronto office instead of joining one of several major firms that were wooing him.

He was once chairman of the board, the largest shareholder, and had been a director since 1951 of CAE

CAE (company)

CAE Inc. is a leading provider of simulation technologies, modelling technologies and integrated training services to airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and defense customers worldwide. The company has annual revenues in excess of CAD $1.6 billion, with manufacturing operations and training...

 Industries Ltd.

He served on the boards of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....

, Larfarge Corp., Montreal Shipping Inc. and Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd.

He was president of the Art Gallery of Ontario

Art Gallery of Ontario

Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...

, and served on the boards of directors of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...

 and the Canadian Opera Company

Canadian Opera Company

The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...

. He was Chairman Emeritus of the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation

University Health Network

University Health Network is a medical centre that comprises three teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine....

.

In 2001, CAE donated $1 million for the creation of the R. Fraser Elliott Scholarship and Laboratory Program at the École Polytechnique

École Polytechnique

The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...

and the Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal

The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

.

The Canadian Opera Company's R. Fraser Elliott Hall, and the Toronto General Hospital

University Health Network

University Health Network is a medical centre that comprises three teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine....

's R. Fraser Elliot Wing are named in his honour.

In 1980, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

.

He married Elizabeth Ann (Betty-Ann) McNicoll in 1955. They had six children: Fraser, Ann, Allison, Adrian, Jordan and Alexandra.

Related book

• Stikeman Elliott: The First Fifty Years by Richard W. Pound
  Dick Pound
  Richard William Duncan Pound, is a Canadian lawyer, partner of the law firm Stikeman Elliott, the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency based in Montreal, and former chancellor of McGill University...
  
  (2002, ISBN 0-7735-2411-8)