Alexander Fraser

Born in Inverness-shire, Scotland, on November 2, 1860, he was educated in Scotland before moving to Canada in 1886. He began his career in journalism with the Toronto Mail and later the Mail and Empire, eventually working as city editor and then as an independent writer and editor.

Alongside his newspaper work, he lectured and preached in Gaelic and developed a strong reputation as a historian and public intellectual. In 1903 he became Ontario’s first Provincial Archivist, a role he held until 1935, and he helped shape the early mission of the provincial archives by identifying, organizing, and preserving important government records.

He also wrote extensively, including works on Toronto, Ontario history, and the 48th Highlanders of Canada, and he was deeply involved in Scottish, literary, educational, and civic organizations in Toronto. He died in Toronto on February 9, 1936, leaving behind a legacy as both a builder of public memory and a writer who made history accessible to a wider readership.