Blair Fraser

'''Blair Fraser''' was a Canadian reporter and editor, writing first in Montreal daily newspapers before writing for MacLean's Magazine for two decades. He died in 1968 in a canoeing accident in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Fraser was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and attended Acadia University. He worked for English-language newspapers in Montreal from 1929 to 1943 before spending two decades writing for Maclean's, one of Canada's most prominent news magazines.

His colleague Douglas Marshall described him as "a gentleman journalist" who would interview people from all walks of life with the same level of interest.<ref name=journey>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Douglas |date=1 August 1968 |title=The last journey of Blair Fraser, Canadian |url=https://archive.org/details/Macleans-Magazine-1968-08-01/page/n11/mode/2up |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=MacLean's |pages=20, 36–39}}</ref>

Fraser knew his country well, having spent his youth in Atlantic Canada before moving to Quebec and Ontario, in addition to numerous trips as a journalist. He had a strong interest in the wilder parts of the country as an expression of the Canadian spirit. After his first canoe trip in 1951, he returned to the Canadian river routes as often as he could with a group formed by Eric Morse calling themselves the ''Voyageurs'', which also included Sigurd Olson.<ref name=journey/><ref name=Globe>{{Cite news |last=McGregor |first=Roy |date=30 August 2013 |title=Borne back into the past: Three generations paddle down the Petawawa in memory of Blair Fraser|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/borne-back-into-the-past/article14057742/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016134949/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/borne-back-into-the-past/article14057742/ |archive-date=16 October 2021 |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Spring 2009 |title=Editorial: Life after death |url=https://paddlingmag.com/stories/editorial-life-after-death/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121230531/https://paddlingmag.com/stories/editorial-life-after-death/ |archive-date=21 January 2025 |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=Canoeroots Magazine}}</ref> Others would join the core group of travelers on an adventure, such as Pierre Elliott Trudeau.<ref name=Paddle>{{Cite news |last=MacGregor |first=Roy |date=30 August 2013 |title=Borne back into the past: Three generations paddle down the Petawawa in memory of Blair Fraser |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/borne-back-into-the-past/article14057742/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016134949/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/borne-back-into-the-past/article14057742/ |archive-date=16 October 2021 |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> He also traveled abroad extensively, notably reporting from Vietnam, Germany, South Africa and China.<ref name=VDC/>

One of his sons, Graham Fraser, also became a journalist of note and served as Commissioner of Official Languages.<ref name=Globe/>

==Death and memorial== Fraser died on May 12, 1968, during a canoe trip on the Petawawa River as part of a group of experienced canoeists. Maneuvering a canoe in tandem with retired Canadian Forces officer Elliot Rodger in an unfamiliar section of the river, the men capsized when they hit a difficult stretch of rapids (Rollway Rapids). Elliott made it to safety, but Fraser's body was recovered later during a search and rescue effort. A coroner's examination concluded he died by drowning, possibly after his head hit a rock.<ref name=journey/>

Fraser's ''Voyageur'' travel companions secured authorization from Algonquin Park to erect a small bronze cross on the shore, marking the site of the fatal accident. The cross was removed in 2008 by a canoeist offended by its presence and recovered by members of the Ontario Wilderness Adventurers club. In 2013, Blair's son Graham, grandsons Malcolm and Nick, and great-grandson Owen, with guides Phil Chester and Dan Caldwell, as well as journalist Roy McGregor, canoed to the site to repair the base and replace the cross.<ref name=Globe/>

==Books== Fraser expounded on his vision of Canada in his 1967 book ''The Search for Identity''.<ref name=Globe/>

A selection of Fraser's Globe and Mail columns was published in 1968, under the title ''Blair Fraser Reports''. The texts, originally published between 1944 and 1968, were selected by his sons John and Graham.<ref name=VDC>{{Cite news |last=Ward-Harris |first=E.D. |date=30 November 1968 |title=Blair Fraser was 'Total Canadian' |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/ca/british-columbia/victoria/victoria-daily-colonist/1969/11-30/page-76 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=Victoria Daily Colonist |pages=76}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Blair}} Category:1909 births Category:Journalists from Nova Scotia Category:1968 deaths Category:People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Category:Acadia University alumni