List of people from British Columbia

Provincial flag of British Columbia

Map and location of British Columbia in Canada

This is a list of notable people who are from British Columbia, 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.

Premiers

See List of premiers of British Columbia.

Members of Parliament

• Jim Abbott
• David Anderson
• Thomas Speakman Barnett
• Dave Barrett, former Premier of British Columbia
• Ron Basford
• Don Bell
• Thomas Berger
• Hewitt Bostock
• Margaret Bridgman
• Chuck Cadman
• Iona Campagnolo, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
• Kim Campbell, also Prime Minister of Canada
• Pat Carney
• Raymond Chan
• Mary Collins
• Chuck Cook
• Jean Crowder
• Nathan Cullen
• John Cummins
• Libby Davies
• Stockwell Day
• Amor De Cosmos, second Premier of British Columbia
• Edgar Dewdney, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
• Herb Dhaliwal
• Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia
• Tommy Douglas
• John Duncan
• David Emerson
• Paul Forseth
• Hedy Fry
• Jim Gouk
• Gurmant Grewal
• Nina Grewal
• Herbert Wilfred Herridge
• Russ Hiebert
• Jay Hill
• Betty Hinton
• Frank Howard
• William Irvine
• Pauline Jewett
• Peter Julian
• Douglas Jung
• Jim Karpoff
• Sophia Leung
• Gary Lunn
• Grace MacInnis
• Ian Alistair Mackenzie
• Roy MacLaren
• Len Marchand
• Keith Martin
• Gerry McGeer
• James Moore
• Henry Nathan Jr.
• Stephen Owen
• George Pearkes, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
• Art Phillips, former mayor of Vancouver
• Elmore Philpott
• John Reynolds
• Nelson Riis
• Svend Robinson
• Paul St. Pierre
• Tom Siddon
• Bill Siksay
• Bob Skelly
• Darrel Stinson
• Chuck Strahl
• John Turner, also Prime Minister of Canada
• Ian Waddell
• Mark Warawa
• Randy White

Jurists

• Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of Canada
• Alfred Scow, First Status Indian judge BC Provincial Court

Other politicians

• Emery Barnes
• Wesley Drewett Black, Provincial Secretary 1952-1972
• Richard Blanshard, first Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
• Rosemary Brown
• Frank Arthur Calder, First Nations MLA and Nisga'a politician
• Sir James Douglas, colonial governor (all colonies)
• Jennifer Granholm, Canadian/American politician and former Governor of Michigan (2003-2011); naturalized US citizen
• Ginger Goodwin, Labour organizer
• Guujaaw, Haida politician, activist and cultural leader
• Edward John
• Arthur Kennedy, governor of the united colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
• David Lam, philanthropist and Lieutenant-Governor
• Rafe Mair
• Grace McCarthy
• Joy McPhail
• Frederick Seymour, Governor of Vancouver Island and of British Columbia
• William Fraser Tolmie
• Joseph Trutch, colonial Lieutenant-Governor and first Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia

Scientists

• Ian Affleck, physicist
• Robert Edward Bell, nuclear physicist
• Margaret Benston, chemist, computer scientist
• Michael Bigg, marine biologist
• Jim Chamberlin, aerodynamicist
• Wade Davis, ethnobotanist
• Ryan C.N. D'Arcy, neuroscientist
• James E. Gill, geologist
• John R. Hendricks, mathematician
• Abram Hoffer, biochemist, physician
• Frances Oldham Kelsey, pharmacologist
• Vit Klemes, hydrologist
• Mel Krajden, medical scientist
• Robert T. Lackey, fisheries scientist, ecologist, zoologist
• Robert Langlands, mathematician
• Jerrold E. Marsden, applied mathematician
• Bill Mathews, geologist, volcanologist, engineer
• Brian McConaghy, forensic scientist
• Ian McTaggart-Cowan, ecologist
• Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, meteorologist
• Faron Moller, computer scientist
• Barth Netterfield, astrophysicist
• Edward Faraday Odlum, geologist
• Santa J. Ono, biologist
• Robert Methven Petrie, astronomer
• Jerilynn Prior, medical scientist, endocrinologist
• Scott D. Sampson, paleontologist
• Martin Schechter, epidemiologist
• Robert Fletcher Shaw, engineer
• John Alexander Sinton, medical scientist, doctor, malariologist
• Frank Smith, psycholinguist
• Michael Smith, biochemist
• Wayne Smith, statistician
• David Suzuki, biologist, ecologist
• Robert Thirsk, engineer, physician, astronaut
• John Lancelot Todd, physician, parasitologist
• Bjarni Tryggvason, engineer, astronaut
• Paul Tseng, applied mathematician
• William Vickrey, Nobel Prize-winning economist
• Andrew Weaver, climate scientist
• Franklin White, public health scientist

Television/film actors and musicians

• Daniel Adair, drummer
• Bryan Adams, singer
• Evan Adams, First Nations actor ( Smoke Signals )
• Pamela Anderson, actress ( Baywatch , V.I.P.)
• Aaron Ashmore, actor (Warehouse 13)
• Shawn Ashmore, actor ( X-Men )
• Long John Baldry, musician, songwriter
• Gil Bellows, actor
• Michael Bublé, singer
• Raymond Burr, actor (Perry Mason)
• Jim Byrnes, musician, actor (Highlander)
• Nicholas Campbell, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
• Chris Carter, screenwriter, producer, director (X-Files)
• Anna Cathcart, actress
• Kim Cattrall, actress ( Sex and the City )
• Sarah Chalke, actress ( Scrubs )
• Tommy Chong, actor, comedian, cannabis rights activist ( Cheech & Chong )
• Hayden Christensen, actor ( Star Wars )
• Amanda Crew, actress ( Silicon Valley )
• Thomas Middleditch, actor ( Silicon Valley )
• Mackenzie Davis, actress ( Terminator: Dark Fate )
• William B. Davis, actor ( X-Files )
• Yvonne De Carlo, actress (The Munsters)
• Mac Demarco, musician, multi-instrumentalist
• Edward Dmytryk, film director
• James Doohan, actor ( Star Trek )
• Atom Egoyan, film director
• Aryana Engineer, actress (Orphan)
• Jodelle Ferland, actress
• Noel Fisher, actor (The Twilight Saga)
• Roy Forbes (Bim), musician
• Judith Forst, opera singer
• David Foster, songwriter, record producer
• Michael J Fox, actor, producer and health activist
• Nelly Furtado, singer-songwriter
• Chief Dan George, actor (Little Big Man, Cariboo Cowboy)
• Evan Goldberg, screenwriter ( Superbad , Pineapple Express )
• Matthew Good, musician
• Grimes (musician), musician
• June Havoc, actress
• Carter Hayden, actor and voice actor ( Bakugan: New Vestroia , Total Drama )
• Bill Henderson (Canadian singer), musician ( Chilliwack )
• Ben Heppner, opera singer
• Matt Hill, Canadian-American voice actor
• Jacob Hoggard, musician (Hedley)
• John Ireland, actor
• Robert Ito, actor
• Joshua Jackson, actor ( Dawson’s Creek )
• Carly Rae Jepsen, musician
• Alexz Johnson, singer, actress
• Avan Jogia, actor
• Joe Keithley, musician, songwriter (D.O.A.)
• Allan King, film director
• Taylor Kitsch, actor and model ( Friday Night Lights )
• Elias Koteas, actor (The Thin Red Line)
• Diana Krall, musician
• Kristin Kreuk, actress (Smallville)
• Nicholas Lea, actor (X-Files)
• Darryl Lenox, comedian
• Lights (musician), musician
• Evangeline Lilly, actress ( Lost , The Hurt Locker )
• Jessica Lowndes, actress ( 90210 )
• Jessica Lucas, actress
• Alexander Ludwig, actor ( Vikings , The Hunger Games )
• Leon Mandrake, illusionist (Mandrake the Magician)
• Sarah McLachlan, musician
• Brandon Jay McLaren, actor ( Power Rangers: S.P.D. , She's The Man )
• Rosa Mendes, model, professional wrestler
• Shay Mitchell, actress ( Pretty Little Liars )
• Carrie-Anne Moss, actress ( The Matrix )
• Meghan Ory, actress
• Molly Parker, actress (House of Cards)
• Barbara Parkins, actress
• Daniel Powter, musician, singer-songwriter, and pianist
• Jason Priestley, actor
• Kirsten Prout, actress
• John Qualen, actor
• Josh Ramsay, musician ( Marianas Trench )
• Mike Reno, musician, songwriter
• Ryan Reynolds, actor ( Green Lantern , Deadpool )
• Donnelly Rhodes, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
• Emily Bett Rickards, actress
• Seth Rogen, actor, comedian, writer, producer ( Pineapple Express , Superbad , Knocked Up )
• Will Sasso, actor ( Mad TV )
• Pablo Schreiber, actor ( The Wire , Orange is the New Black )
• Michael Shanks, actor
• Nell Shipman, actress, film director
• Alexis Smith, actress
• Dallas Smith, musician
• Cobie Smulders, actress ( How I Met Your Mother )
• Jewel Staite, actress
• Ryan Stiles, comedian, producer ( Whose Line Is It Anyway? )
• Dorothy Stratten, actress, model
• Bobby Taylor, Motown singer (Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers)
• Jon Mikl Thor, singer, performer and bodybuilder
• Meg Tilly, actress
• Jacob Tremblay, actor
• Daniel Wesley, musician
• Finn Wolfhard, actor, voice actor, musician ( Stranger Things , It )
• Glenn Wool, stand-up comedian
• Sophia Reid-Gantzert, actress and dancer ^[1]

Athletes

• Glenn Anderson, ice hockey player
• Peter Bakonyi (1933–1997), Hungarian-born Canadian Olympic fencer
• Jason Bay (born 1978), Canadian-American baseball player
• Russell Baze
• Jamie Benn, ice hockey player
• Jordie Benn
• Mitch Berger (born 1972)
• Rod Brind'Amour
• Hy Buller (1926–1968), All Star NHL ice hockey player
• John Davison
• Ryan Dempster, baseball player
• Brenden Dillon
• Ryan Ellis, ice hockey player
• Brandon Clarke, Canadian-American NBA player
• Craig Forrest
• Jeff Francis
• Kaleigh Fratkin (born 1992), professional ice hockey player
• Freddy Fuller
• Danny Gare
• Leah Goldstein (born 1969), Canadian-born Israeli professional road racing cyclist winner of the Race Across America, World Bantamweight Kickboxing Champion, and Israel Duathlon national champion
• Shaul Gordon (born 1994), Canadian-Israeli Olympic fencer
• Nancy Greene
• Dan Hamhuis
• Rick Hansen
• Rich Harden
• Shawn Horcoff
• Jordyn Huitema
• Daniel Igali
• Barret Jackman
• Harry Jerome
• Teyo Johnson
• Harry Jones
• Paul Kariya
• Larry Kwong
• Andrew Ladd
• Silken Laumann
• Brett Lawrie
• Bob Lenarduzzi
• Adam Loewen
• Mark McMorris
• Willie Mitchell
• Greg Moore
• Justin Morneau (born 1981), baseball player
• Brendan Morrison
• Steve Nash (born 1974), basketball player
• Cam Neely
• Rob Niedermayer
• Scott Niedermayer
• Michael Nonni
• Tyler O'Neill
• Pat Onstad
• Simon Pond
• Carey Price
• Mark Recchi
• Gareth Rees
• Morgan Rielly
• Griffin Reinhart
• Max Reinhart
• Sam Reinhart
• Kevin Reynolds, figure skater; 2013 Four Continents champion and 2014 Winter Olympics team silver medalist
• Cliff Ronning
• Joe Sakic
• Eli Schenkel (born 1992), Olympic fencer
• Christine Sinclair
• Paul Spoljaric, baseball player
• Troy Stecher, ice hockey player
• Ari Taub (born 1971), Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler
• John Tenta
• Cliff Thorburn
• Conor Trainor
• John van't Schip
• Larry Walker, baseball player
• Percy Williams, sprinter
• Steve Yzerman (born 1965), ice hockey player

Artists

• Hank Bull, painter
• Emily Carr, artist
• Kate Craig, artist
• Olea Marion Davis, ceramist, sculptor
• Iris Hauser (born 1956), painter
• Fred Herzog, photographer
• Clive Holden, poet, film director and visual artist
• Karen Jamieson, dancer and choreographer
• Beatrice Lennie, painter, sculptor
• Glenn Lewis
• Attila Richard Lukacs, artist
• Charles Marega, sculptor
• Len Norris, editorial cartoonist
• Sophie Pemberton, painter
• Bill Reid, artist
• David Rimmer, filmmaker
• Jack Shadbolt, artist
• Godfrey Stephens, artist
• Shane Wilson, artist

Journalists and writers

• Doug Beardsley, poet and educator
• Bill Bissett, poet
• George Bowering, author
• Robert Bringhurst, poet
• Douglas Coupland, author (genX fiction)
• Janice Cowan
• Ranj Dhaliwal, author (crime-fiction)
• Ralph Edwards, naturalist/author (Caruso of Lonesome Lake)
• Timothy Findley, author
• Allan Fotheringham, columnist (politics, often satirical)
• Austin Gary, author
• William Gibson, author (Neuromancer)
• Terry Glavin, columnist/author and naturalist (ecology, fisheries, politics)
• John Stephen Hill, playwright Steve Hill (When I'm 64)
• Bruce Hutchison, editor/columnist and author (The Fraser)
• W.P. Kinsella, author/columnist (Shoeless Joe Goes To Iowa)
• Mark Leiren-Young, author/playwright/screenwriter (Never Shoot a Stampede Queen)
• Malcolm Lowry, novelist (Under the Volcano, October Ferry To Gabriola)
• Eswyn Lyster, genealogist and war bride author (Most Excellent Citizens, Trafford Press 2010)
• Keith Maillard, novelist, poet (Gloria, Motet, Two Strand River)
• Daphne Marlatt, poet
• Alan Morley, journalist and historian (Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis)
• Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray, editor, columnist
• Susan Musgrave, poet
• Kliph Nesteroff, writer, broadcaster
• Rohan O'Grady, novelist (Let's Kill Uncle, Pippin's Journal)
• Stan Persky, author and journalist
• Eden Robinson, novelist (Monkey Beach)
• Spider Robinson, author (science fiction)
• George Ryga, playwright (The Ecstasy Of Rita Joe)
• Omar Sachedina, journalist and news anchor (CTV National News)
• Paul St. Pierre (Breaking Smith's Quarter Horse)
• Robin Skelton, poet
• Lauren Southern, right-wing activist and YouTuber
• William Fraser Tolmie, HBC Fur trade employee, medical doctor and later politician
• Margaret Trudeau, author
• Jack Wasserman, columnist (society, show biz, politics)

Others

• Brother Twelve
• Mary John Sr.
• Masajiro Miyazaki, osteopath, coroner and "bush doctor"
• Jim Pattison, businessman and Fortune 500 member
• Caspar Phair, Lillooet, pioneer and first government agent
• Jack Pickup, physician, the "Flying Doctor of British Columbia"
• Arran Stephens, author; founder of Nature's Path
• Amy Soranno, animal rights activist
• Skip Triplett, former president of Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Jessica Yaniv, transgender activist

References

1. Warren, Janis (April 5, 2016). "Port Coquitlam Ballerina Dazzles Vienna". Tri-City News . Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.