List of people from Nova Scotia

Provincial flag of Nova Scotia

This is a list of notable people who were either born or lived in Nova Scotia, Canada, or have spent a large part or formative part of their career in that province.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Actors

• Cory Bowles  – Canadian actor
• Lucy DeCoutere  – Canadian actress and air force officer
• Richard Donat  – Canadian actor
• Ellen Dubin  – Canadian actress
• Arlene Duncan  – Canadian actress
• Barrie Dunn  – Canadian actor, producer and lawyer
• John Dunsworth  – Canadian actor and comedian (1946-2017)
• Sarah Dunsworth-Nickerson  – Canadian actress and costume designer
• Lex Gigeroff  – Television writer and actor
• Leslie Hope  – Canadian actress
• Michael Jackson  – Canadian actor, grip and gaffer (born 1970)
• Shauna MacDonald  – Canadian actress
• Martha MacIsaac  – Canadian actress (born 1984)
• Marguerite McNeil  – Canadian actress (1935–2021)
• Mary-Colin Chisholm  – Canadian actress
• Elliot Page  – Canadian actor and producer (born 1987)
• Mona Louise Parsons  – Canadian actress
• Gordon Pinsent  – Canadian actor and writer (1930–2023)
• Laura Regan  – Canadian actress (born 1977)
• Nancy Regan  – Canadian actress, journalist, and news anchor
• Patrick Roach  – Canadian actor and investor (born 1969)
• Tara Spencer-Nairn  – Canadian actress (born 1978)
• Shelley Thompson  – Canadian actress
• Jonathan Torrens  – Canadian actor and television personality
• Robb Wells  – Canadian actor and screenwriter

Architects

• Andrew R. Cobb  – Canadian-American architect (1876–1943)
• David Ewart  – Canadian architect (1841–1921)
• Leslie R. Fairn  – Canadian architect (1875–1971)
• William Critchlow Harris  – Canadian architect (1854–1913)

Artists

• Earl Bailly  – Canadian artist (1903–1977)
• Frances Bannerman  – Canadian painter and poet (1855-1944)
• Alex Colville  – Canadian artist (1920–2013)
• William E. deGarthe  – Finnish painter (1907–1983)
• Nancy Edell  – Canadian artist (1942-2005)
• Gerald Ferguson  – Canadian-American conceptual artist and painter
• Tom Forrestall  – Canadian realist painter (1936–2024)
• Carol Hoorn Fraser  – American-born Canadian artist (1930–1991)
• Jack L. Gray  – Canadian artist
• Randolph Hewton  – Canadian painter
• Ursula Johnson  – Canadian Mi'kmaq artist
• George Lang  – Scottish stonemason and master builder (1821-1881)
• Arthur Lismer  – English-Canadian painter (1885-1969)
• Maud Lewis  – Nova Scotian folk artist
• Maria Morris Miller  – Canadian artist (1813–1875)
• Elizabeth Styring Nutt  – British-Canadian artist and educator
• John O'Brien  – Canadian marine artist
• Henry Mortikar Rosenberg  – Canadian artist (1858-1947)
• Edith Smith  – Canadian artist (1867-1954)
• William Valentine  – Nova Scotian painter (1798–1849)

Businesspeople

• Ezra Churchill  – Canadian politician
• Enos Collins  – Nova Scotian merchant, banker, and privateer
• Samuel Cunard  – British-Canadian shipping magnate (1787–1865)
• Cyrus S. Eaton  – Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist
• Rose Fortune  – Canadian businesswoman
• Alfred Fuller  – Canada-born American businessman
• Alexander Keith  – Canadian politician
• Gilbert McKenna  – Canadian politician
• Joseph Salter  – Canadian businessman and politician
• Frank H. Sobey  – Canadian businessman
• Frank Stanfield  – Canadian entrepreneur and politician (1872–1931)
• John Stanfield  – Canadian industrialist and politician (1868–1934)
• James McGregor Stewart  – Canadian lawyer
• William Stevens Fielding  – Canadian politician (1848–1929)
• Sandford Fleming  – Scottish-Canadian engineer and inventor (1827–1915)
• Charles Frederick Fraser  – First superintendent of the Halifax School for the Blind

Cartoonists

• Kate Beaton  – Canadian comics artist (born 1983)
• Bob Chambers  – Canadian cartoonist and illustrator
• Hal Foster  – Canadian-American illustrator (1892–1982)

Diplomats

• Audri Mukhopadhyay  – Canadian diplomat and economist

Doctors

• William Johnston Almon  – Canadian surgeon and politician (1816–1901)
• Maria Louisa Angwin  – First woman licensed to practice medicine in Nova Scotia, Canada
• William Bruce Almon  – Nova Scotian physician and politician
• Clement Ligoure  – Trinidadian doctor in Canada (1887–1922)
• Eva Waddell Mader Macdonald  – Canadian academic (1902–1997)
• Charles Tupper  – Prime Minister of Canada in 1896
• Alfred Waddell  – Trinidadian physician (1896–1953)

Filmmakers

• Mike Clattenburg  – Canadian filmmaker and producer
• Phil Comeau  – Canadian film and television director
• Paul Donovan  – Canadian television and film writer, director and producer
• Jason Eisener  – Canadian film writer, editor and director
• Thom Fitzgerald  – American film director
• Daniel MacIvor  – Canadian actor and director
• Daniel Petrie  – Canadian film, television, and stage director
• Noah Pink  – Canadian screenwriter

Inventors

• Alexander Graham Bell  – Canadian-American inventor of telephone [phone])
• Walter Harris Callow  – Canadian veteran and inventor
• Charles Fenerty  – Canadian inventor and poet (1821–1892)
• Abraham Pineo Gesner  – New Brunswick and Nova Scotian physician and geologist (1797–1864)

Military

17th-18th century

• Charles de Menou d'Aulnay  – Governor of Acadia and Seigneur of Port Royal
• Françoise-Marie Jacquelin  – Acadian woman
• Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin  – French military officer (1652–1707)
• Sébastien Rale  – French Jesuit missionary
• Jean-Baptiste Cope  – Mi'kmaq leader (1698–1758-60)
• Jean-Louis Le Loutre  – Catholic priest, missionary & military leader (1709-1772)
• Charles Lawrence  – British Army officer
• Silvanus Cobb  – Massachusetts provincial army captain
• Jonathan Eddy  – American military officer and politician
• John Allan  – Canadian politician and officer with the Massachusetts Militia
• Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste  – Famous privateer
• Joseph-Nicolas Gautier  – Acadian merchant and leader
• John Gyles  – American soldier and interpreter
• John Handfield  – British military officer
• Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour  – Governor of Acadia and Seigneur of Port Royal
• Madockawando  – Penobscot Chief during King William's War
• Pierre Maillard  – French-born priest
• Charles Morris  – Canadian army officer, officeholder and judge
• Pierre II Surette  – Acadian man

19th century

• Provo Wallis  – British admiral (1791–1892)
• John Charles Beckwith  – British army officer
• Edward Belcher  – British naval officer (1799–1877)
• Fenwick Williams  – 19th-century Nova Scotian officer of the British Army
• John Eardley Inglis  – British army officer
• William Hall (VC)  – Canadian Royal Navy hero
• George Augustus Westphal  – Royal Navy admiral

Post-Confederation

• Philip Bent  – Recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Harold Lothrop Borden  – Canadian military officer
• Walter Harris Callow  – Canadian veteran and inventor
• John Croak  – Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Clarence Dunlap  – Canadian Air Force officer (1908–2003)
• Leonard W. Murray  – Canadian admiral in WW II (1896–1971)
• James Peter Robertson  – Canadian Victoria Cross recipient (1883-1917)
• William Grant Stairs  – Canadian-British explorer, soldier, and adventurer

Musicians

For a more comprehensive list, see List of musicians from Nova Scotia.

People

• Brian Ahern (producer)  – Canadian record producer and guitarist (born 1945)
• Carroll Baker  – American actress (born 1931)
• Gary Beals  – Canadian singer
• Buck 65  – Canadian hip hop artist
• George Canyon  – Canadian country music singer
• Wilf Carter  – Canadian singer and yodeler (1904–1996)
• Classified  – Canadian rapper and record producer (born 1977)
• Holly Cole  – Canadian jazz singer
• J. P. Cormier  – Canadian musician
• Melanie Doane  – Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and music educator.
• Denny Doherty  – Canadian singer and musician (1940–2007)
• Todd Fancey  – Canadian musician
• Leslie Feist  – Canadian musician
• J.D. Fortune  – Canadian singer and songwriter (born 1973)
• Bruce Guthro  – Canadian singer (1961–2023)
• Rebekah Higgs  – Canadian indie rock singer and songwriter
• Ashley MacIsaac  – Canadian musician
• Natalie MacMaster  – Canadian musician
• Kevin MacMichael  – Canadian guitarist (1951–2002)
• Rita MacNeil  – Canadian singer-songwriter (1944–2013)
• Matt Mays  – Canadian musician
• Sarah McLachlan  – Canadian musician (born 1968)
• Matt Minglewood  – Canadian musician
• Anne Murray  – Canadian singer (born 1945)
• Joel Plaskett  – Canadian singer-songwriter
• Steve Poltz  – Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• Heather Rankin  – Canadian singer, songwriter and actor (born 1967)
• Jimmy Rankin  – Canadian musician
• Stan Rogers  – Canadian folk musician (1949–1983)
• Gordie Sampson  – Canadian musician
• Tara Slone  – Canadian singer
• Laura Smith  – Canadian singer-songwriter (1952–2020)
• Hank Snow  – Canadian musician (1914–1999)
• Scott Storch  – American record producer and songwriter (born 1973)
• Portia White  – Canadian opera singer
• JRDN  – Canadian singer
• Jody Upshaw  – Canadian musician

Bands

• April Wine  – Canadian rock band
• The Barra MacNeils  – Canadian musical group
• The Rankin Family  – Canadian music group
• Rawlins Cross  – Canadian Celtic band
• Sloan  – Canadian rock band
• The Trews  – Canadian hard rock band

Politicians

See also: List of premiers of Nova Scotia, List of Nova Scotia senators, and Leader of the Opposition (Nova Scotia)

• Jeremy Akerman  – English-Canadian politician, writer and actor (born 1942)
• David H. Armstrong  – American politician
• Robert Chisholm  – Canadian politician (born 1957)
• Noël Doiron  – Leader of the Acadians
• Chris d'Entremont  – Canadian politician
• Myra Freeman  – Canadian politician (born 1949)
• Paul Hatfield  – Canadian politician
• Joseph Howe  – Canadian politician (1804–1873)
• Gordon Benjamin Isnor  – Canadian merchant and politician
• Rocky Jones  – Canadian politician
• Mary Theresa King-Myers  – First female municipal councillor in rural Canada
• Leonard Arthur Kitz  – First Jewish mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia
• John Lohr  – Canadian politician
• Peter MacKay  – Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1965)
• Allan MacMaster  – Canadian politician
• Alexa McDonough  – Canadian politician (1944–2022)
• Derek Mombourquette  – Canadian politician
• John William Ritchie  – Canadian Father of Confederation
• William Roche  – Canadian politician
• John Savage  – Premier of Nova Scotia from 1993 to 1997
• Michael Savage  – Lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia since 2024
• Mike Smith  – Former mayor of Colchester County, Nova Scotia
• Robert Stanfield  – Canadian premier and opposition leader (1914–2003)
• Charles Tupper  – Prime Minister of Canada in 1896
• Richard John Uniacke  – Canadian politician
• Bill White  – Canadian activist and first Black candidate for federal office
• William Young  – Canadian politician (1799–1887)
• Lenore Zann  – Canadian actress and politician

Religion

See also: Dean of Nova Scotia

• Henry Alline  – American–Canadian minister, evangelist, and writer
• Moses E. Kiley  – American prelate

Scientists

• Robert Ackman  – Canadian chemist and professor
• Karen Beauchemin  – Canadian agricultural scientist
• Willard Boyle  – Canadian physicist (1924–2011)
• Allen C. Eaves  – Canadian scientist
• Abraham Pineo Gesner  – New Brunswick and Nova Scotian physician and geologist (1797–1864)
• Naomi Ginsberg  – American physicist, chemist and engineer
• Dana G. Goski  – Material scientist
• Donald O. Hebb  – Canadian neuropsychologist (1904–1985)
• Charlotte Keen  – Canadian geologist
• William Li  – Canadian biological oceanographer (born 1952)
• Alan Longhurst  – British-born Canadian oceanographer (1925–2023)
• Kinnon MacKinnon  – Canadian researcher (born 1985)
• Glenda MacQueen  – Canadian medical researcher (1965–2020)
• Arthur B. McDonald  – Canadian astrophysicist
• Thomas Mason  – American physicist (born 1964)
• Simon Newcomb  – Canadian-American polymath (1835–1909)
• Elizabeth Patton  – Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, professor of chemical genetics
• Keith R. Porter  – Canadian-American cell biologist (1912–1997)

Sports

Sports announcers

• Danny Gallivan  – Canadian sportscaster
• Paul Hollingsworth  – Canadian sports reporter and author

Baseball players

• Vince Horsman  – Canadian baseball player
• Fred Lake  – Canadian baseball player (1866–1931)

Canoeists

• Richard Dalton  – Canadian sprint canoeist
• Stephen Giles  – Canadian sprint canoeist
• Michael Scarola  – Canadian canoeist

Kayakers

• Jillian D'Alessio  – Canadian sprint kayaker
• Karen Furneaux  – Canadian sprint kayaker
• Sue Holloway  – Canadian retired cross-country skier and sprint canoeist
• Anne Dodge  – Canadian sprint kayaker
• Michelle Russell  – Canadian sprint kayaker

Bodybuilders

• Angus MacAskill  – Strongman champion

Boxers

• Chris Clarke  – Canadian boxer (born 1956)
• Buddy Daye  – Canadian boxer
• George Dixon  – Canadian boxer
• Ray Downey  – Canadian boxer (born 1968)
• Bryan Gibson  – Canadian boxer
• Kirk Johnson  – Canadian boxer (born 1972)
• Sam Langford  – Canadian boxer (c.1885–1956)
• Carroll Morgan  – Canadian boxer (1947–2018)
• Marty O'Donnell  – Canadian boxer
• Randall Thompson  – Canadian boxer

Curlers

Men’s Curling

• Shawn Adams  – Canadian curler
• Mark Dacey  – Canadian curler
• Andrew Gibson  – Canadian curler
• Rob Harris  – Canadian curler
• Bruce Lohnes  – Canadian curler

Women’s Curling

• Mary-Anne Arsenault  – Canadian curler (born 1968)
• Nancy Delahunt  – Canadian curler
• Meredith Harrison  – Canadian curler
• Colleen Jones  – Canadian curler and television personality
• Kim Kelly  – Canadian curler
• Jill Brothers  – Canadian curler

Equestrians

Harness racing

• Bill O'Donnell  – Canadian harness race driver

Show jumping

• Ian Millar  – Canadian equestrian

Football players

NFL players

• Buck MacDonald  – Canadian gridiron football player (1894–1985)
• Eddie Murray  – Canadian football player (born 1956)
• Tyrone Williams  – Canadian gridiron football player (born 1970)

CFL players

• Tyrone Williams  – Canadian gridiron football player (born 1970)

Rugby union players

• Morgan Williams  – Canadian rugby union player (born 1976)

Soccer players

• Stephen Hart  – Trinidad and Tobago footballer and manager
• Ante Jazić  – Canadian soccer player
• Jacob Shaffelburg  – Canadian soccer player

Gymnasts

• Ellie Black  – Canadian artistic gymnast (born 1995)

Ice hockey people

Administrators

• Frederick E. Betts  – Canadian ice hockey administrator and businessman (1870–1942)
• Hanson Dowell  – Canadian ice hockey administrator and politician (1906–2000)

Men

• Paul Andrea  – Canadian former ice hockey right winger
• Drake Batherson  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1998)
• Dennis Bonvie  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1973)
• Eric Boulton  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1976)
• David Brine  – Canadian-born Croatian ice hockey player
• John Brophy  – Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• Sidney Crosby  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1987)
• Mal Davis  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Ryan Flinn  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1980)
• Danny Gallivan  – Canadian sportscaster
• Flash Hollett  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Don Koharski  – Canadian-American professional ice hockey referee
• Craig MacDonald  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Lowell MacDonald  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Parker MacDonald  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Al MacInnis  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1963)
• Nathan MacKinnon  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1995)
• Cail MacLean  – Canadian lice hockey player and coach
• Paul MacLean  – French-born Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• Al MacNeil  – Canadian ice hockey player and coach (1935–2025)
• Brad Marchand  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1988)
• Mike McPhee  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Dean Melanson  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Glen Murray  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1972)
• Pokey Reddick  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1964)
• Bill Riley  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Jody Shelley  – Canadian ice hockey player
• James Sheppard  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Zach Sill  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Jon Sim  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Bobby Smith  – Canadian ice hockey player, executive (b. 1958)
• Colin White  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Matthew Highmore  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Ryan Graves  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1995)

Women

• Jill Saulnier  – Canadian ice hockey player
• Blayre Turnbull  – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1993)
• Carly Jackson  – Canadian ice hockey goaltender

Sports journalists

• Alex J. Walling  – Canadian sportscaster (1946–2023)

Sailors

• Howard Blackburn  – Canadian-American fisherman
• Joshua Slocum  – 19th-century Canadian-American seaman; first to circumnavigate the world solo
• Angus Walters  – Canadian sailor and first captain of Bluenose

Cross-country skiers

• Sue Holloway  – Canadian retired cross-country skier and sprint canoeist

Swimmers

• Nancy Garapick  – Canadian swimmer (born 1961)
• Sandy Goss  – Canadian swimmer (born 1968)

Track and field athletes

• Duncan Gillis  – Canadian hammer and discus thrower
• Aileen Meagher  – Canadian athlete (1910–1987)

Professional wrestlers

• Rocky Johnson  – Canadian professional wrestler (1944–2020)
• Great Antonio  – Croatian-Canadian strongman, photomontage artist and wrestler

Powerlifters

• Jackie Barrett  – Canadian powerlifter

Suffragettes

• Anna Leonowens  – British educator (1831–1915)
• Edith Archibald  – Canadian suffragist and writer
• Eliza Ritchie  – Canadian suffragist (1856–1933)
• Laura Borden  – Canadian politician

Writers

• John Boileau  – British baronet and archaeologist (1794–1869)
• William Coates Borrett  – Nova Scotia radio pioneer and author
• Ernest Buckler  – Canadian writer
• Lesley Choyce  – Canadian writer and educator
• George Elliott Clarke  – Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic (born 1960)
• Darren Greer  – Canadian writer (born 1968)
• Thomas Chandler Haliburton  – Canadian politician
• Wendy Lill  – Canadian politician
• Hugh MacLennan  – Canadian writer (1907–1990)
• Alistair MacLeod  – Canadian writer and academic (1936-2014)
• Helen McCully  – Canadian writer (1902–1977)
• Leo McKay Jr.  – Canadian writer
• Maria Morris Miller  – Canadian artist (1813–1875)
• Thomas Head Raddall  – Canadian writer
• Spider Robinson  – Canadian science fiction author (born 1948)
• Margaret Marshall Saunders  – Canadian author (1861–1947)
• John Stiles  – Canadian writer
• Michael Ernest Sweet  – Canadian photographer, writer, and educator
• Budge Wilson  – Canadian writer (1927–2021)

See also

• Black Nova Scotians
• List of people from Cape Breton
• List of people from the Halifax Regional Municipality
• List of lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia
• List of people from Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia