John Allen Fraser (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. He grew up and was educated there and graduated from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in Spring 1954. Fraser first won a seat in Parliament in the 1972 general election as a Progressive Conservative from Vancouver. 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. 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.

Honours

In 1995, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. 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.