Collection search - Alistair Fraser fonds [multiple media]

Record information – Brief
1
Alistair Fraser fonds [multiple media]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1953-1979.

Reference:

R525-0-9-E

Type of material:

Photographs, Stamps and stamp products, Textual material, Objects (including medals and pins), Art

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

137005

Context of this record:

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Alistair Fraser fonds
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Record information – Details
Fonds includes:

2 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1953-1979.

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

4.1 m of textual records.
309 photographs.
21 postal covers.
4 postcards.
1 pin.
1 postal marking.

Language of material:

English

Added language of material:

English, French

Scope and content:

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The Alistair Fraser fonds documents Fraser's political activities with the Liberal Party and his subsequent career as Assistant Clerk and Clerk of the House of Commons. These records are Fraser's personal "political" papers, generated and stored by Fraser in his office. They document day to day life on Parliament Hill, the political process, legislative procedure, and Fraser's private interests, family and social life.

Fraser kept and interfiled three basic types of correspondence with his papers: personal, political and party oriented. Personal correspondence to family and friends provides comments and descriptions of daily activities both on and off Parliament Hill. It also includes thank you notes and invitations to numerous Ottawa social events. Political correspondence provides information on parliamentary business, administration and lobbying efforts. Party correspondence documents the organization and policy decisions of the Liberal Party. As a whole, the correspondence offers valuable insights into the workings of power politics in Canada.

Fraser's original filing system of correspondence and subject files has been maintained in the arrangement of the fonds. As a result of this arrangement, letters to or from the same correspondent and on the same topic may be found in several different files. Fraser continued to add more recent documents to his older files, significantly extending their date range.

Provenance:

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Fraser, Alistair, 1923-1997
Additional name(s):

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Fraser, Alistair, 1923-

Canada. Parliament. House of Commons

Canada. Parlement. Chambre des communes

Fraser, Alistair, 1923
Biography/Administrative history:

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Fraser, Alistair, 1923-1997 : Born in Toronto on January 5th, 1923, Alistair Fraser was the eldest son of Jane Ross and Hon. Alistair Fraser, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia from 1952 to 1958. In 1942, he interrupted his university education (McGill University, Montreal) to serve in the Royal Canadian Artillery until the end of the War. After finishing his studies at McGill University in Montreal in 1947, he studied law at the University of British-Columbia (Vancouver) and was called to the bar in 1951.

After practising law in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, Fraser first entered public life in 1949 when he became a special assistant to the Minister of National Defence for a short period. In 1952 he was named Executive Assistant to James Sinclair, the Minister of Fisheries, remaining with the Department of Fisheries until 1957. In 1957, Alistair Fraser ran unsuccessfully for parliament against Major-General George Pearkes, V.C (British Columbia). In 1958, Fraser became Executive Assistant to Ross MacDonald, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and Fraser was part of Lester Pearson's team when the Liberal Party was in opposition.

With the return of the Pearson Government in 1963, Alistair Fraser became Executive Assistant to the Senior Minister for the Atlantic Provinces and Minister of Transport, Hon. J. W. Pickersgill. Fraser ran again unsuccessfully for parliament in 1965 in Pictou County (Nova Scotia).

Alistair Fraser was appointed Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons in January 1966 and Clerk in August 1967, when Leon-J. Raymond retired. During his career as Clerk of the House of Commons from 1967 to 1979, Alistair Fraser was prominent in the creation and administration of the Parliamentary Internships Programme following contacts between the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) and the House of Commons in 1968. During his career, he supervised the successful installation of television covering of the proceedings in the House of Commons, modernized the page system and directed improvements in interpretation and translation systems of the House of Commons. After his retirement, Fraser was consultant for various committees. Alistair Fraser died in 1997.

Finding aid:

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Textual records: (Paper) The finding aid is a file list. MSS2144

Textual records: (Electronic) Finding aid. MSS2144
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000667.pdf

Additional information:

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Language note:

A small percentage of correspondence found in the fonds is in French.

Philatelic issue data:

Canada, Great Britain and Jamaica : various denominations.
Subject heading:

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Canada 20th century

Canada 20e siècle
Source:

Private

Related control no.:

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1998-00041-9
1998/0021 (1998-02-11)
1998/0034 (1998-02-11)
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Access restriction document

http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/r000000993.pdf

Graphic (photo)

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [R525] 20--22

[Consultation 90 Open]

Philatelic records

[Consultation90 Open]

Textual records

[Consultation96 Restrictions vary]

Finding aid box [FA 2144] 154

[Consultation 10 Closed]

Object

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [R525] 23

[Consultation 90 Open]

Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [R525] 24

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Various copyrights on photographs.
Copyright (philately) : Copyright of postage stamps belongs to the respective postal administrations.
Credit : Library and Archives Canada

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