John Allen Fraser

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = John Allen Fraser

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OBC|CD|KC|size=100%}}

| image = John A Fraser 1987.jpg

| caption = Fraser in 1987

| office = 32nd Speaker of the House of Commons

| term_start = September 30, 1986

| term_end = January 16, 1994

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| governor_general = Jeanne Sauvé
Ray Hnatyshyn

| primeminister = Brian Mulroney
Kim Campbell

| predecessor = John Bosley

| successor = Gilbert Parent

| office1 = Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

| term_start1 = September 17, 1984

| term_end1 = September 23, 1985

| primeminister1 = Brian Mulroney

| predecessor1 = Herb Breau

| successor1 = Erik Nielsen (interim)

| office2 = Minister of the Environment

| term_start2 = June 4, 1979

| term_end2 = March 2, 1980

| primeminister2 = Joe Clark

| predecessor2 = Leonard Marchand

| successor2 = John Roberts

| riding3 = Vancouver South

| parliament3 = Canadian

| term_start3 = October 30, 1972

| term_end3 = October 25, 1993

| predecessor3 = Arthur Laing

| successor3 = Herb Dhaliwal

| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|12|15}}

| birth_place = Yokohama, Empire of Japan

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|4|7|1931|12|15}}

| death_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

| nationality =

| spouse =

| party = Progressive Conservative

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

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}}

John Allen Fraser {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OBC|CD|KC}} (December 15, 1931 – April 7, 2024) was a Canadian politician who was speaker of the House of Commons from 1986 to 1994. He also served as Canada's Minister of the Environment, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Ambassador to the United Nations for the Environment.

Life and career

Fraser was born on December 15, 1931, in Yokohama, Japan, where his father was working as a lumber salesman. His parents returned to British Columbia when Fraser was four years old.{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00022470.1979.10470918 | volume=29 | title=The Environmental Partnership in North America | journal=Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association | year=1979 | pages=1212–1213| last1=Fraser | first1=The Hon. John A. | issue=12 }} He grew up and was educated there and graduated from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in Spring 1954.{{cite web |url=http://www.law.ubc.ca/files/pdf/alumni/magazine/AlumniMag_winter09.pdf |title=The Honourable John A. Fraser |date=2009 |last=Cholmondeley |first=Penny |work=UBC Law Alumni Magazine |publisher=University of British Columbia |pages=16–17 |access-date=May 29, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118124006/http://www.law.ubc.ca/files/pdf/alumni/magazine/AlumniMag_winter09.pdf |archive-date=November 18, 2011 }} Fraser first won a seat in Parliament in the 1972 general election as a Progressive Conservative from Vancouver.{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=5017|nolist=yes}} He stood as a candidate at the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention to replace Robert Stanfield, but did poorly and withdrew after the first ballot.{{cite news |author= |date=February 23, 1976 |title=Wagner led on every ballot – except the last one |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-wagner-led-on-every-ballot/147964262/ |work=The Gazette |page=11 |agency=The Canadian Press |location=Ottawa, Ontario |access-date=May 23, 2024}} He was re-elected in 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, and 1988.

In 1979, Fraser became Minister of the Environment in the short-lived government of Joe Clark, returning to the Opposition benches in 1980. He returned to the Cabinet in the wake of Brian Mulroney's landslide victory in the 1984 federal election and became Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. He was forced to resign in 1985 as a result of the "Tainted Tuna" affair.

In 1986, he became Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, the first to be elected by fellow Members of Parliament, and served in that capacity until his retirement from politics in 1993.

In January 1994, Fraser was appointed as Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations for the Environment, a post he served until December 1997.

Fraser died in Vancouver on April 7, 2024, at the age of 92.{{cite web|title=National Flag of Canada half-masting notices|date=May 3, 2018 |quote=Additionally, the flag on the Peace Tower will fly at half-mast from sunrise to sunset on the day of the funeral or the memorial service (date to be determined) of the late John Allen Fraser, who passed away on April 7, 2024.|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/half-masting-notices.html|access-date=April 9, 2024}}{{cite web|title=John Allen Fraser, first House Speaker elected by secret ballot, has died|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-fraser-former-speaker-dies-1.7168762|publisher=CBC News|date=April 9, 2024|access-date=April 9, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/john-fraser-obituary?id=54856908 |title=John Fraser |date=April 12, 2024 |work=The Globe and Mail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413180545/https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/john-fraser-obituary?id=54856908 |archive-date=April 13, 2024 |via=Legacy.com |access-date=April 13, 2024}}

Honours

In 1995, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.{{OCC|3469}} In 2002, he was the recipient of the Vimy Award, which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.{{cite web |url=http://cda-cdai.ca/cdai/the-vimy-awards/2002-john-fraser |title=2002 Vimy Award Recipient – The Honourable John A Fraser |publisher=Conference of Defence Associations Institute |access-date=October 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709190723/http://cda-cdai.ca/cdai/the-vimy-awards/2002-john-fraser |archive-date=July 9, 2012 }}[http://www.rmcclub.ca/everitaswp/?p=1430#more-1430 e-Veritas » Blog Archive » Misc] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207122811/http://www.rmcclub.ca/everitaswp/?p=1430 |date=December 7, 2008 }}

{{Infobox COA wide

|escutcheon = Azure on a chevron between three fraises Argent three roses Gules

|crest = Issuant from a coronet rim Argent set with maple leaves Gules alternating with thistle flowers Argent a demi cougar Azure holding in its dexter forepaw the baton of office of the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada that is a rod Vert at either end tipped and dovetailed inwards Argent ensigned with a lion sejant Argent its dexter forepaw resting on a coronet érablé Argent the rim set with twelve jewels Gules

|supporters = On a grassy mound strewn with shamrocks Vert two cougars Sable semé of fraises Or gorged with wing collars Argent;

|badge = A cougar's head erased Azure gorged with a coronet erablé Or the rim charged with three fraises Gules;

|motto = NOUS SOMMES PREST (We Are Ready) {{Cite web | url=http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1627&ShowAll=1 |title = Fraser, John Allen [Individual]| date=November 12, 2020 }} }}