Born in Liverpool, England, Fraser was raised in Nova Scotia. He received undergraduate degrees in Arts (1957) and Law (1960) from Dalhousie University and a Master's in Law (1962) from the University of London in the United Kingdom.
He was made a Queen's Counsel in Nova Scotia in 1979. He taught law at Queen's University, Dalhousie University, University of Victoria and University of Calgary. He was the founding dean of the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. He was later appointed vice-president, academic of the University of Victoria. From 1988 to 1996, he was the President and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary.
He died in 1997, of heart failure, at the age of 59.
