Joan Fraser was appointed to the Senate on September 17, 1998. She held the position of Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from January 2006 to February 2007. Senator Fraser was Chair of the Senate Liberal Caucus (1999-2002), and has served as Chair of both the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications (2003-2005) and the Special Senate Committee on C-20 (Clarity Legislation) (2000). She has also been a member of the following Senate Standing Committees: Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Official Languages, Human Rights, National Finance.

She served as President of the Women’s Coordinating Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (2004-2006), as well as an ex-officio member of the International Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (2002-2006).

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages from McGill University in 1965. In 1965, she joined the Montreal newspaper The Gazette. In 1967, she moved to Financial Times of Canada, and in 1978, she returned to The Gazette as editorial page editor. In 1993, she was appointed Editor-in-Chief, a post she held until 1996. From 1997 to 1998, she was Director-General of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada, a division of the Council for Canadian Unity.

She has won two National Newspaper Awards (1982 and 1991) and four National Newspaper Award Citations of Merit (1986, 1987, 1990, 1994) for editorial writing. She has also won other awards for journalism, communications and her work on women's issues.

Senator Fraser lives in Montreal. She is married to Michel Faure and has two children, Elisabeth and Isabelle.

Parliamentary Address: The Senate of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A4.