Scott Fraser (politician)

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Scott Fraser (born 1957 or 1958) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia who was a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP). He represented the Mid Island–Pacific Rim riding in the BC Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2020. Earlier in his career, he served as mayor of Tofino (1996–1999) and later held various roles as an MLA, including minister in the BC government.

Fraser was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and later moved to British Columbia. He and his wife Dolores ran a bed-and-breakfast in Tofino after several years working on oil rigs in Alberta. He first ran for federal office in Nanaimo–Alberni in 2004 but lost. In 2005 he entered provincial politics, winning a BC NDP seat in Alberni–Qualicum as the party formed the official opposition.

During his time in opposition, Fraser served as a critic for aboriginal issues and other areas, and he pushed for various environmental and community-related measures. He introduced private member bills such as the Promotion of Safe Antifreeze Act (2007) and the Cave Protection Act (2010, reintroduced in 2016). He also worked on local issues like protecting areas around Cathedral Grove and Hamilton Marsh, and improving road safety in Bamfield.

In 2009, Fraser won the new Alberni–Pacific Rim riding, and he was re-elected in 2013 and 2017 as the BC NDP continued to form the opposition, later entering government in 2017. After the 41st Parliament began, he was appointed as the minister in charge of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, serving from July 2017 to November 2020. In that role, he helped pass the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019) to implement UNDRIP, and he supported related agreements and amendments, including the Tla’amin Final Agreement Amendment Act (2018).

Fraser announced in September 2020 that he would not seek re-election. The BC NDP won the riding of Mid Island–Pacific Rim in the 2020 provincial election, with Josie Osborne succeeding him. Fraser is a resident of Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, and has one child.