List of people from British Columbia

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.

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

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