Russell Fraser
Canadian politician and engineer (1934–2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Russell Gordon Fraser (March 1, 1934 – May 23, 2024) was a Canadian politician and engineer who represented the constituency of Vancouver South in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1983 to 1991. A member of the British Columbia Social Credit Party (Socred) caucus, he served as cabinet minister under premiers Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm and Rita Johnston.
Russell Gordon Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Vancouver South | |
| In office May 5, 1983 – October 17, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Hyndman |
| Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
| Attorney general of British Columbia | |
| In office July 13, 1990 – November 5, 1991 | |
| Premier | Bill Vander Zalm Rita Johnston |
| Preceded by | Bud Smith |
| Succeeded by | Colin Gabelmann |
| Solicitor general of British Columbia | |
| In office November 1, 1989 – December 13, 1990 | |
| Premier | Bill Vander Zalm |
| Preceded by | Angus Ree |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Messmer |
| Minister of Post-Secondary Education of British Columbia | |
| In office February 11, 1986 – November 6, 1986 | |
| Premier | Bill Bennett Bill Vander Zalm |
| Preceded by | Pat McGeer (Universities, Science and Communications) |
| Succeeded by | Stan Hagen (Continuing Education and Job Training) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 1, 1934 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | May 23, 2024 (aged 90) |
| Party | British Columbia Social Credit Party |
| Spouse | Jone Fraser |
| Alma mater | University of British Columbia |
| Profession | Engineer |
Biography
Born in Vancouver, Fraser graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1958 with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree, and served as president of the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia in 1979.[1][2] He was a commissioner on the Vancouver Park Board from 1976 to 1982, serving as chair from 1980 to 1981.[3]
He ran in the 1983 provincial election as a Social Credit candidate in Vancouver South, and was elected as one of two members of the legislative assembly (MLA) for the riding alongside Stephen Rogers.[4]: 346 Initially a backbencher, he was named to Premier Bill Bennett's cabinet in February 1986 as Minister of Post-Secondary Education,[5] and retained that role after Bill Vander Zalm took over as premier that August.[6]
He was re-elected MLA in the October 1986 election,[4]: 356 but was dropped from Vander Zalm's cabinet that November in favour of Stan Hagen.[6][7] He returned to the cabinet in November 1989 as Solicitor General, and additionally became Attorney General in July 1990 following the resignation of Bud Smith; he stayed on as Solicitor General until that December.[6]
After Vander Zalm's resignation in April 1991, he was considered for interim leader of the party (and thus premier), but lost the caucus vote on the fourth ballot to Rita Johnston by 21–17;[8][9] he remained as Attorney General in Johnston's cabinet.[10] With the riding of Vancouver South being dissolved ahead of the October 1991 election, Fraser ran for re-election in the newly established constituency of Vancouver-Langara, but finished in third place as part of the Socreds' electoral collapse.[11]
Fraser died on May 23, 2024, at the age of 90.[12]
Electoral record
| 1991 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Langara | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||||
| Liberal | Val Anderson | 7,241 | 36.95 | $13,737 | ||||
| New Democratic | Peter M. Kendall | 6,774 | 34.57 | $25,805 | ||||
| Social Credit | Russell G. Fraser | 5,374 | 27.42 | $50,387 | ||||
| Green | Kamala J. Todd | 134 | 0.88 | $32 | ||||
| Conservative | Malcolm A. Weatherston | 75 | 0.38 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 19,598 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 373 | 1.87 | ||||||
| Turnout | 19,971 | 72.64 | ||||||