Lists of Canadians
Famous, popular and notable people associated with Canada:
Authors
- Margaret Atwood - author
- Leonard Cohen - poet/singer
- Douglas Coupland - author
- Robertson Davies - author
- Arthur Hailey - author
- Lynne Johnston - writer/cartoonist, For Better Or Worse
- Margaret Laurence - author
- Stephen Leacock - author/humorist
- Dennis Lee - writer of children's poetry
- Todd McFarlane - cartoonist/writer, Spawn Spiderman
- Lucy Maude Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
- Robert Munsch - American-born writer of children's books
- Mordecai Richler - author
- Gabrielle Roy - author
- Carol Shields - author
- (See: List of novelists Canada, List of Canadian writers)
Business Personalities
- Max Aitken - "Lord Beaverbrook" - publishing baron, entrepreneur
- Conrad Black - "Lord Black of Crossharbour", entrepreneur, publisher,
- Samuel Bronfman - founded the "Seagrams" distillery empire
- Robert Campeau - bankrupted Bloomingdale's Department Store, NYC
- Jack Kent Cooke - owner of the Washington Redskins
- Samuel Cunard - Cunard Steamship Lines
- Paul Desmarais - Chairman: Power Corporation of Canada
- Bernie Ebbers - CEO (former) of WorldCom - largest bankruptcy in world history
- Alfred Fuller - Fuller Brush Company
- Milton and Nelson Good - first Canadian Automobile
- Samuel Goldwyn - co-founder: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios
- K.C. Irving - Industrialist
- Isaac Walton Killam (Sir)
- Louis B. Mayer - co-founder: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios
- Harrison McCain - French Fries
- Sam McLaughlin - Buick Automobile Manufacturer
- Jimmy Pattison
- Paul Reichmann - sunk by Canary Wharf
- John Roth - CEO (former) Nortel Networks - "the most successful businessman in modern Canadian history"....Time Europe 12/25/00
- E.P. Taylor - entrepreneur, thoroughbred horse breeder
- Jack Warner - founder: Warner Bros. Studios
- Moses Znaimer - television mogul Bravo, MuchMusic
Criminals
- Paul Bernardo
- Edwin Alonzo Boyd - bank robber
- Karla Homolka - (Mrs. Paul Bernardo)
- Clifford Olson - convicted child serial killer
Alleged criminals
- Robert Pickton -- charged with largest number of serial killings in Canadian history, and still counting
- Nicholas Ribic -- charged with having taken UN hostages during the war in the Balkans
Humanitarians
- Norman Bethune - battlefield doctor in Spain and China
Inventors
- Alexander Graham Bell - Invented the telephone in Canada, developed it in US. (Canadian/American/Scot)
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier - invented the snowmobile
- J. Brown - invented the washing machine
- Thomas Carroll - first self-propelled combine harvester
- Mathew Evans - co-inventor of the first electric light bulb
- Charles Fenerty - pulp to paper process
- Reginald Fessenden - inventor the Radiotelephone and sonar - produced 1st radio broadcast
- Sir Sandford Fleming - inventor of the system of time zones in use today
- James Gosling - invented Java computer language
- Larry Hanson - co-inventor of green plastic garbage bag
- Rasmus Lerdorf - invented PHP computer language used on internet
- Elijah McCoy - inventor, automatic machinery lubricator, lawn sprinkler, the "real McCoy"
- Samuel McKeen - invented the Odometer
- Gideon Sundback - invented the zipper
- Harry Wasyluk - co-inventor of green plastic garbage bag
- Henry Woodward - co-inventor of the first electric light bulb
Motion Pictures, Radio, & Television
- Pamela Anderson - actress
- Dan Aykroyd - actor/comedian
- Karen Black - actress
- Raymond Burr - actor
- James Cameron - director
- Neve Campbell - actress
- John Candy - actor/comedian
- Jim Carrey - actor/comedian
- Tommy Chong - actor/comedian
- David Cronenberg - director
- Hume Cronyn - actor
- Yvonne De Carlo - actress
- Colleen Dewhurst - actress
- Dudley Do-Right - cartoon character
- James Doohan - actor
- Atom Egoyan - director (The Sweet Hereafter)
- David Foley - actor
- Michael J. Fox - actor/comedian
- Brendan Fraser - actor/comedian
- Victor Garber - actor
- Chief Dan George - actor
- Rick Green - actor/comedian
- Tom Green - actor/comedian
- Graham Greene - actor: Dances With Wolves
- Lorne Greene - actor (Pa Cartwright on Bonanza), TV news anchor
- Paul Gross - actor
- Peter Gzowski -- radio personality
- Monty Hall - game show host
- Phil Hartman - actor, Saturday Night Live
- Jillian Hennessy - actress, Law & Order
- Foster Hewitt - broadcaster
- Arthur Hiller - winner of 2001 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar
- Peter Jennings - News anchor
- Norman Jewison - director, received The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
- Margot Kidder - actress - "Superman's Lois Lane"
- Kids In The Hall - comedy troupe
- René Lecavalier -- broadcaster
- Eugene Levy - actor/comedian
- Art Linkletter - TV personality
- Rich Little - impressionist
- Howie Mandell - actor/comedian
- Andrea Martin - actor/comedian
- Norm MacDonald - actor/comedian, Saturday Night Live
- Robert MacNeil - journalist: "PBS- MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour"
- Rick Mercer - actor/comedian, This Hour Has 22 Minutes
- Lorne Michaels - originator of Saturday Night Live
- Rick Moranis - actor
- Carrie-Anne Moss - actor, The Matrix
- Mike Myers - actor (Austin Powers), Saturday Night Live
- Leslie Nielsen - actor
- Catherine O'Hara - actress
- Sidney Olcott - (1873-1949) - directed (1907) Ben-Hur
- Jason Priestly - actor Beverly Hills 90210
- Mary Pickford - actress and producer
- Christopher Plummer - actor
- Gilda Radner - actress, Saturday Night Live
- Keanu Reeves - actor
- Ivan Reitman - Director and Producer
- Gloria Reuben - actor: ER
- Morely Safer - journalist: "60 Minutes"
- Frank Schuster - comedian
- Mack Sennett - movie director
- William Shatner - actor
- Martin Short - actor/comedian, Saturday Night Live
- Jay Silverheels - actor: "Tonto"
- Steve Smith - actor/comedian, The Red Green Show
- Dorothy Stratten (1960-1980) - Playboy Playmate & Actress
- Donald Sutherland - actor
- Kiefer Sutherland - actor
- Terrance & Phillip - cartoon characters
- Dave Thomas - actor/comedian
- Alex Trebek - game show host
- Nia Vandalos - actor/screenwriter, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
- Johnny Wayne - comedian
- Fay Wray - actress
Musicians
- Bryan Adams - singer
- Paul Anka - singer
- Jan Arden - singer
- Randy Bachman - singer
- Barenaked Ladies - singing group
- Be Good Tanyas - contemporary old time music group
- Liona Boyd - classical guitarist
- Russell Braun - operatic baritone
- Bruce Cockburn - singer
- Burton Cummings - singer
- Rick Danko - musician in "The Band"
- Celine Dion - singer
- Denny Doherty - singer in The Mamas and the Papas
- Percy Faith - band leader
- Maureen Forrester - contralto
- Judith Forst - operatic mezzo soprano
- David Foster - composer
- Nelly Furtado - singer
- Glenn Gould - pianist, composer
- Ben Heppner - operatic tenor
- Paul Horn - flute player
- Garth Hudson - musician in "The Band"
- Diana Krall - jazz pianist
- k.d. lang - singer
- Avril Lavigne - singer/songwriter
- Geddy Lee - singer, bassist, keyboardist
- Gordon Lightfoot - singer
- Guy Lombardo - Big Band Leader
- Richard Manuel - musician in "The Band"
- Richard Margison - operatic tenor
- Loreena McKennitt - singer
- Sarah McLachlan - singer
- Don Messer - fiddler
- Joni Mitchell - singer
- Alan Monk - operatic baritone
- Alanis Morissette - singer
- Anne Murray - singer
- Oscar Peterson - (1925- ) jazz pianist
- Brett Polegato - operatic baritone
- Robbie Robertson - musician in "The Band"
- Stan Rogers - folk musician
- Paul Shaffer - Musical director "Letterman" show
- Hank Snow - country & western singer
- Shania Twain - singer
- Jon Vickers - operatic tenor
- Gilles Vigneault -- singer
- Neil Young - singer
- See also: List of Canadian musicians
Political Leaders
- Robert Baldwin
- Henri Bourassa
- Georges-Étienne Cartier
- Lord Durham (John George Lambton)
- C.D. Howe
- Joseph Howe
- Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
- René Lévesque
- William Lyon Mackenzie
- Louis-Joseph Papineau
- Louis Riel
(See list: Prime Minister of Canada)
Scholars
- Louise Arbour - Jurist
- John Kenneth Galbraith - economist
- Marshall McLuhan - Communications theorist, "The medium is the message"
Scientists
- Sid Altman - Molecular Biology
- Frederick Banting - medical scientist, co-discovered insulin
- Charles Best - medical scientist, co-discovered insulin
- Wilfred Bigelow - first artificial pacemaker
- Bertram Brockhouse - designed the Triple-Axis Neutron Spectroscope
- Charles Edward Saunders - Marquis Wheat
- David Suzuki - Geneticist and science popularizer
For a more detailed list of renowned Canadian scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, see the outside link:
Sports Personalities
- Donovan Bailey - sprinter
- Myriam Bédard - biathlete
- Marilyn Bell - first person to swim Lake Ontario
- Kurt Browning - figure skater
- Tommy Burns - heavyweight boxing World Champion
- Toller Cranston - figure skater
- Louis Cyr - weightlifter
- Marc Gagnon - short track speed skater
- Wayne Gretzky - ice hockey player
- Brett Hart - pro wrestler
- Owen Hart pro wrestler
- Paul Henderson - scored final goal in 1972 Canada/Russia match in ice hockey
- Gordie Howe - ice hockey player
- Clara Hughes - speed skating and cycling medalist in both summer and winter olympics
- Bobby Hull - ice hockey player
- Brett Hull - ice hockey player
- Ferguson Jenkins - baseball player
- Ben Johnson - sprinter, disqualified from Olympic gold medal for doping
- Joseph Lannin - owner of the Boston Red Sox who signed Babe Ruth
- Catriona LeMay Doan - speed skater
- Mario Lemieux - ice hockey player
- Bronko Nagurski - American football player with Chicago Bears
- James Naismith - Teacher who invented the game of Basketball
- Steve Nash - basketball player
- Northern Dancer - Canada's most successful and beloved race horse
- Bobby Orr - ice hockey player
- David Pelltier - figure skater
- Terry Puhl - baseball player
- Ross Rebagliati - Olympic snowboarding champion
- Maurice Richard - ice hockey player
- Jamie Sale - figure skater
- Sandra Schmirler - curler
- Barbara Ann Scott - figure skating
- Matt Stairs - baseball player
- Elvis Stojko - figure skater
- Paul Tracy - race car driver
- Ron Turcotte - jockey of Secretariat
- Gilles Villeneuve - Formula One race car driver
- Jacques Villeneuve - Formula One race car driver
- Barbara Wagner & Bob Paul - figure skating pair
- Caroline Waldo - synchronized swimmer
- Larry Walker - baseball player
- Simon Whitfield - Olympic triathelete
Other Personalities
- Scott Abbott - co-inventor of Trivial Pursuit
- Linda Evangelista - super model
- Terry Fox - cancer victim & activist
- Group of Seven - painters
- Chris Haney - co-inventor of Trivial Pursuit
- Karen Kain - ballerina
- Yousuf Karsh - photographer
- Edgar Randolph Parker - better known as "Painless" Parker - flamboyant dentist
- Bat Masterson - (1853-1921) gunfighter, fight promoter, sports journalist
- Joe Shuster - creator of Superman
- William Grant Stairs - Victorian Explorer
- Winnie the Pooh - aka Winnipeg the Bear who inspired Milne
See also: Biographical Listing