Born in Montreal, Fil Fraser graduated from McGill University with a degree in Psychology. Fraser began his broadcasting career with Foster Hewitt’s radio station CKFH, Toronto in 1951. Through the fifties he worked both as a sports and news broadcaster in Ontario and Quebec. In 1958, Fraser moved to Regina and worked in public relations for both the government and the private sector until his founding and publishing of the Regina Weekly Mirror in 1960. In 1963 Fraser’s career took a turn into the health field as Director of Education at the Saskatchewan Bureau of Alcoholism. The shift in focus found Fraser moving to Edmonton in 1965 to work with the Division of Alcoholism of the Alberta Department of Health (the forerunner to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC)). In 1969, he returned to working in the broadcasting field as program manager of the Metropolitan Edmonton Educational Television Association and was the dinnertime news anchor for CBC Edmonton television from 1971-1973.

By the mid-seventies, Fraser became involved in the production of full-length feature films. His films, Why Shoot the Teacher, Marie Anne and The Hounds of Notre Dame, all won awards and each received theatrical and television release. Fraser was a founder of the Alberta Film Festival, 1974, and the Banff International Television Festival, 1979. In 1985, Fraser was appointed to the Federal Task Force on Broadcasting Policy (Caplan/Sauvageau) and in 1987 was appointed to the Canadian Multicultural Council. From 1989-1992 Fraser served as Chief Commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. For 1995-2000 Fraser was President and CEO of Vision TV in Toronto. Fil Fraser is the author of Alberta’s Camelot, a book about the Lougheed government’s commitment to the Alberta arts community. He also authored numerous newspaper and magazine articles. He was honoured with the Albert Achievement Award in 1978 and he was awarded the Order of Canada in 1991.

Fil Fraser is currently (2007) an adjunct Professor in Communication Studies at Athabasca University. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Telefilm Canada since November 2003, and is a member of the boards of a number of national and regional organizations. He is Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation. He was inducted into the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame in October, 2005.

Fil Fraser died on 3 December 2017.