The long-time dean of the Parliamentary press gallery in Ottawa, Fisher was born in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, the son of Roy W. Fisher and Eva Pearl Mason,[1] and worked at various jobs, including as a miner and forest ranger, before enlisting in the Canadian Army's 12th Armoured Car Regiment of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons during World War II.

Returning to Canada after the war, he enrolled at the University of Toronto through a veteran's program and studied history and library science.

Fisher ran for president of the CCF in a bid to unseat David Lewis, who was one of the architects of the New Party proposal, but was soundly defeated.

Economic pressures ensued as MPs were only paid $10,000 a year at the time and Fisher needed to support a growing family.

Offered a job by Toronto Telegram publisher John W. H. Bassett, he began freelancing as a political columnist in 1961 while sitting as an MP.

[5][6] Finding journalism more rewarding than politics, Fisher retired from the House of Commons at the 1965 general election after eight years as an MP.

Fisher also worked for more than 30 years as host of a Sunday night TV show, Insight, on Ottawa's CJOH-TV and made regular appearances on CTV’s Question Period.

[5] From 1979 to 1980, Fisher worked as a one-man provincial commission of inquiry reporting into the state and the future needs of recreation and sport in Ontario.