Gordon Knapman Fraser was a National Government

Conservative Party of Canada (historical)

The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

 and Progressive Conservative party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 and became a financial agent and consultant by career.

He was first elected at the Peterborough West

Peterborough West

Peterborough West was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Peterborough was into two ridings...

 riding in the 1940 general election

Canadian federal election, 1940

The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...

, when the Conservative party was operating under the National Government banner, the Liberal candidate, Roland Maxwell Glover, publisher of the Peterborough Examiner

Peterborough Examiner

The Peterborough Examiner is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by the Sun Media, division of Quebecor Media. At one time, it was edited by Canadian man of letters Robertson Davies. It is the only daily newspaper...

.

He again defeated Glover in the 1945 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1945

The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada...

 by which time Fraser's party had become the Progressive Conservatives

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 and was re-elected again in 1949

Canadian federal election, 1949

The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...

. In the 1953 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1953

The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...

, he won re-election in the new riding of Peterborough

Peterborough (electoral district)

Peterborough is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953.The riding's borders have differed slightly since its creation in 1953, but has always included most or all of Peterborough County and its county seat of...

.

During his early years in opposition

Official Opposition (Canada)

In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...

, Fraser was a critic of the National Film Board and the Department of National Defence

Department of National Defence (Canada)

The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...

 but supported the development of transport projects such as the Trans-Canada Highway

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

 and the Saint Lawrence Seaway

Saint Lawrence Seaway

The Saint Lawrence Seaway , , is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal...

.

Fraser sat in the House of Commons until his death on 26 May 1960 in Ottawa, when he collapsed at a book store. Fraser had been the vice-chair of the Select Standing Committee on Railways, Canals and Telegraph Lines.

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