List of people from Ontario

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

Film, television, and voice actors

Name	Notable for	Connection to Ontario
Patrick J. Adams (born 1981)	Suits	born in Toronto
Robbie Amell (born 1988)	The Flash	born in Toronto
Stephen Amell (born 1981)	Arrow and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows	born in Toronto
Will Arnett (born 1970)		born in Toronto
Matt Austin (born 1978)	Power Rangers S.P.D.	born in Toronto
Dan Aykroyd (born 1952)	Saturday Night Live	born in Ottawa
Peter Aykroyd (1955–2021)	Saturday Night Live and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal	born in Ottawa
Steve Bacic (born 1965)		raised in Windsor
Lindy Booth (born 1979)		born in Oakville
Neve Campbell (born 1973)	Scream series	born in Guelph
John Candy (1950–1994)	Home Alone and Uncle Buck	born in Newmarket
Jim Carrey (born 1962)	Batman Forever, Liar Liar and The Truman Show	born in Newmarket
Michael Cera (born 1988)	Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Superbad	born in Brampton
Sarah Chalke (born 1976)	Scrubs and Roseanne	born in Ottawa
Juan Chioran (born 1963)	Beyblade: Metal Fusion and Grossology	lived in Toronto and Stratford
A. J. Cook (born 1978)	Criminal Minds and Final Destination 2	born in Oshawa, raised in Whitby
Paulo Costanzo (born 1978)	Royal Pains	born in Brampton
Daniel DeSanto (born 1980)	Mean Girls and Are You Afraid of the Dark?	born in Toronto
Brett Dier (born 1990)	actor	born in London
Nina Dobrev (born 1989)	The Vampire Diaries and Degrassi: The Next Generation	raised in Toronto
Michael Dowse (born 1973)	director	born in London
Louis Ferreira (born 1966)		raised in North York
Victor Garber (born 1949)	The Flash and Titanic	born in London
Ryan Gosling (born 1980)	The Notebook	born in London
Graham Greene (born 1952)	Dances with Wolves and The Green Mile	born in Ohsweken
Shenae Grimes (born 1989)	90210	born in Toronto
Corey Haim (1971–2010)	The Lost Boys and Lucas	born in Toronto
Jill Hennessy (born 1968)	Crossing Jordan	raised in Kitchener
Torri Higginson (born 1969)	Stargate Atlantis	born in Burlington^[1]
Ben Hollingsworth (born 1984)	Code Black and Virgin River	born in Brockville
Jennifer Irwin (born 1975)	Superstar	born in Toronto
Andrew Jackson (born 1963)	Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge and Beyblade: Metal Fusion	born in Newmarket
Jeon Somi (born 2001)	former member of I.O.I	born in Windsor
Stana Katic (born 1978)	Castle	born in Hamilton
Isaac Kragten (born 2002)	Odd Squad	born in Caledonia
Don Lake (born 1956)	Police Academy series, frequent collaborator with Bonnie Hunt	born in Toronto
Sunny Leone (born 1981)		born in Sarnia
Eugene Levy (born 1946)	American Pie series	born in Hamilton
Myrna Lorrie (born 1940)		born in Thunder Bay
Michela Luci (born 2006)	Dino Dana	born in Ancaster, Ontario
Rachel McAdams (born 1978)	The Notebook	born in St. Thomas
Scott McCord (born 1971)	Bakugan	born in Sarnia
Eric McCormack (born 1963)	Will & Grace	born in Toronto
Derek McGrath (born 1951)	My Secret Identity	born in Timmins
Shay Mitchell (born 1987)	Pretty Little Liars	born in Mississauga
Rick Moranis (born 1953)	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters	born in Toronto
Al Mukadam (born 1985)	Radio Free Roscoe	born in Toronto
Mike Myers (born 1963)	Shrek series	born in Scarborough
Sophie Nélisse (born 2000)		born in Windsor
Catherine O'Hara (born 1954)	SCTV and Schitt's Creek	raised in Toronto^[2]
Sandra Oh (born 1971)		born in Ottawa
Megan Park (born 1986)	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	born in Lindsay
Dan Petronijevic (born 1981)		born in Scarborough
Mary Pickford (1892–1979)	co-founder of United Artists and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences	born in Toronto
Christopher Plummer (1929-2021)	Sound of Music, Beginners, and All the Money in the World	born in Toronto
Sarah Polley (born 1979)		born in Toronto
David Reale	Beyblade	born in Caledon
Martin Roach (born 1962)	Inspector Gadget	born in Toronto
Kathleen Robertson (born 1973)	Beverly Hills, 90210 and Scary Movie 4	born in Hamilton
Kelly Rowan (born 1965)	The O.C.	born in Ottawa
Caterina Scorsone (born 1981)	Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy	born in Toronto
Corey Sevier (born 1984)		born in Ajax
Martin Short (born 1950)		born in Hamilton
Jay Silverheels (1912–1980)	The Lone Ranger	born in Brantford
Scott Speedman (born 1975)	Felicity and Underworld films	raised in Toronto
John Stocker (born 1947)		born in Toronto
Tara Strong (born 1973)		born in Toronto
Dave Thomas (born 1949)		born in St. Catharines
Emily VanCamp (born 1986)		born in Port Perry
Lisa Yamanaka (born 1983)		born in Toronto

Artists

Troy Brooks (born 1972 in Chatham, Ontario) – painter

Comedians

Professional athletes

Caleb Agada (born 1994) – Nigerian-Canadian basketball player in the Israeli Premier League and for the Nigerian national basketball team
Bolade Ajomale – Olympic sprinter from Richmond Hill
Kyle Alexander (born 1996) – basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Sean Avery – retired hockey player from North York
Alon Badat (born 1989) – Israeli soccer player from Thornhill
Josh Bailey – hockey player, New York Islanders – Bowmanville
Rowan Barrett – basketball player from Scarborough, top scorer in the 2002 Israel Basketball Premier League
Anthony Bennett – basketball player from Toronto
Sam Bennett – hockey player from Holland Landing
Shane Bergman – CFL player from Waterford
Reno Bertoia (1935–2011) – Major League baseball player from Windsor
Tajon Buchanan (born 1999) – soccer player – Brampton
Marcus Carr (born 1999) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Tomer Chencinski (born 1984) – Israeli-Canadian football player from Thornhill
Steve Christie – Hamilton
Mike Craig – Thorndale
Laura Creavalle – Toronto
Nick Denis – North Bay
Andre De Grasse – Olympic sprinter from Scarborough
Phil Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
Tony Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
Simon Farine – basketball player from Toronto
Sharon Fichman (born 1990) – Canadian/Israeli tennis player from Toronto
Mike Fisher – hockey player from Peterborough
Rick Fox – Toronto
Mark Friedman (born 1995) – NHL player from Toronto
Greg Gardner (born 1975) – ice hockey player and coach
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (born 1998) – Toronto
Doug Gilmour – Kingston
Claude Giroux – Hearst
Wayne Gretzky (born 1961) – Brantford
Brooke Henderson (born 1997) – Smiths Falls
Jack Hendrickson (born 1936) – National Hockey League player from Kingston, Ontario and Midland, Ontario
James Hinchcliffe – Oakville
Tim Horton – Cochrane
Jack Hughes (born 2001) – NHL ice hockey player from Toronto
Zach Hyman (born 1992) – NHL ice hockey player from Forest Hill
Cory Joseph – Pickering
Curtis Joseph – Keswick
Nazem Kadri (born 1990) – NHL player – London
David Levin (born 1999) – Israeli ice hockey player – Toronto
Jesse Levine (born 1987) – American-Canadian tennis player – Ottawa
Alex "Mine Boy" Levinsky (1910–1990) – NHL hockey player – Toronto
Eric Lindros (born 1973) – London
Jamaal Magloire – Toronto
Frank Mahovlich – Timmins
Connor McDavid – Newmarket
Jamal Murray – basketball, Kitchener
Rick Nash – Brampton
Josh Naylor – Mississauga
Daniel Nestor – Toronto
Bobby Orr – Parry Sound
Pete Orr – Richmond Hill
Bob Plager – hockey player, Kirkland Lake
Milos Raonic – tennis player – Thornhill
Samuel Rothschild (1899–1987) – ice hockey player – Sudbury
Jim Rutherford – Beeton
Samuel Schachter (born 1990) – Olympic volleyball player
Denis Shapovalov (born 1999) – Israeli-Canadian tennis player – Vaughan
Patrick Sharp – Thunder Bay
Simisola Shittu (born 1999) – British-born Canadian basketball player for Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Premier League - Burlington^[4]
Darryl Sittler (born 1950) – Kitchener
Trevor Smith (born 1985) – hockey player – Ottawa
Eric Staal – Thunder Bay
Jordan Staal – Thunder Bay
Marc Staal – Thunder Bay
Steven Stamkos – Markham
Andrew Sznajder (born 1967) – English-born Canadian tennis player – Oakville^[5]
Tristan Thompson – Brampton
Joe Thornton – St. Thomas
Raffi Torres – Toronto
Paul Tracy – Scarborough
Mike Veisor (born 1952) – hockey player – Toronto
Joey Votto (born 1983) – baseball player – Etobicoke
Andrew Wiggins (born 1995) – Toronto
Nigel Wilson (born 1970) – Oshawa

Politicians

Laura Curran
Philip Downing
Stephen Harper – 22nd Prime Minister of Canada (2006–2015) and former Conservative Party leader – Leaside
John T. Jarvis
Michael Kerzner – Solicitor General of Ontario
William Lyon Mackenzie King - 10th Prime Minister of Canada (1921-26, 1926-30, 1935-48) Longest serving Prime Minister in Canadian history - Berlin now Kitchener.
Paul Martin – 21st Prime Minister of Canada (2003–2006) – Windsor
James McMillan – Hamilton
Lester B. Pearson – 14th Prime Minister of Canada (1963-1968) – Newtonbrook
Justin Trudeau – 23rd Prime Minister of Canada (2015–present) – Ottawa

Olympic athletes

Other notable celebrities

Thalia Assuras – London
Samantha Bee – Toronto
William J. Bruce III - St. Catharines^[6]
Don Cherry – Kingston
William Winer Cooke – Brantford
Adam Copeland – Orangeville
Linda Evangelista – St. Catharines
Melyssa Ford – Toronto
Frank Gehry – Toronto
Danielle Graham – Guelph
Chris Hadfield – astronaut, Sarnia and Milton
Shalom Harlow – Oshawa
James Hobson – engineer and Youtuber, Kitchener^[7]
Michiel Horn – Toronto
Peter Jennings – Toronto
Lynn Johnston – Collingwood
Jason Jones – Hamilton
Gail Kim – Toronto
Lisa LaFlamme – Kitchener
Ferdinand Larose – created the Larose Forest, Prescott and Russell
Lainey Lui – Toronto
Steve Mackall – Toronto
Lorne Michaels – Toronto
Daniel Negreanu – poker player, Toronto
Kevin Newman – Toronto
Jordan Peterson – professor, Toronto
Quddus – Toronto
James Randi – Toronto
Ivan Reitman – Hamilton
Jason Reso – Orangeville
Sandie Rinaldo – Toronto
John Roberts – Toronto
Lloyd Robertson – Stratford
Morley Safer – Toronto
David Shore – London
Lilly Singh – Toronto
Trish Stratus – Richmond Hill
John Saunders – sports reporter, from Ajax and other cities
Alex Trebek – Sudbury
Jack L. Warner – London
Ken Westerfield – disc sports (Frisbee) pioneer, from Toronto
Lauren Williams – Toronto

Bands, musicians, singers, and rappers

Lee Aaron – Belleville
Annihilator (band) – Ottawa
Bryan Adams – Kingston
Alexisonfire – St. Catharines
Paul Anka – Ottawa
Eva Avila – Ottawa
Barenaked Ladies – Scarborough
Justin Bieber – Stratford
Billy Talent – Mississauga
Jully Black – Toronto
Blue Rodeo – Toronto
Broken Social Scene – Toronto
Cancer Bats – Toronto
Candi & The Backbeat – North York
Alessia Cara – Mississauga
Keshia Chanté – Ottawa
Bruce Cockburn – Ottawa
Deborah Cox – Toronto
deadmau5 – Niagara Falls; real name Joel Thomas Zimmerman
Hugh Dillon – Kingston
Fefe Dobson – Scarborough
Drake – Toronto
Finger Eleven – Burlington
Five Man Electrical Band – Ottawa
J.D. Fortune – Mississauga
Nelly Furtado – Forest Hill, Toronto^[8]
Glenn Gould – Toronto
Dallas Green – St. Catharines
Hail the Villain – Oshawa
Sarah Harmer – Burlington
illScarlett – Mississauga
Jeon Somi (born 2001) – Windsor
Kardinal Offishall – Toronto
Vikas Kohli – Mississauga
James LaBrie – Penetanguishene
Henry Lau – Toronto
Avril Lavigne – Belleville and Greater Napanee
Gordon Lightfoot – Orillia
Lights – Timmins
Little X – Toronto
Guy Lombardo – London
Brian Melo – Hamilton
Shawn Mendes – Pickering
Alice Merton – Oakville
Metric – Toronto
Kim Mitchell – Sarnia
Alanis Morissette – Ottawa
My Darkest Days – Toronto
The Partland Brothers – Colgan
Our Lady Peace – Toronto
Peaches – Toronto
Protest the Hero – Whitby
Anastasia Rizikov – Toronto
Rush – Toronto
Saga – Oakville
Paul Shaffer – Thunder Bay
Sheriff – Toronto
Silverstein – Burlington
Snow – Toronto
Wendy Son – Richmond Hill
Sum 41 – Ajax
Skye Sweetnam – Bolton
Teenage Head – Hamilton
Three Days Grace – Toronto
Tokyo Police Club – Newmarket
The Tragically Hip – Kingston
Shania Twain – Windsor
U.S.S. (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) – Stouffville, Markham and Toronto
Vanity – Niagara Falls
Walk off the Earth – Burlington
Tamia Washington – Windsor
The Weeknd – Scarborough
Michelle Wright – Merlin
Neil Young – Toronto
Daniel Caesar – Toronto

Authors

Margaret Atwood – Ottawa and Toronto
James Cameron – Kapuskasing and Niagara Falls
Julie Czerneda – Mississauga
Robertson Davies – Thamesville
Earl Doherty – Ottawa
Malcolm Gladwell – Kitchener-Waterloo
Alistair MacLeod – Windsor
Alice Munro (1931–2024) – Wingham
Michael Ondaatje – Toronto
Robert J. Sawyer – Mississauga
Eric Walters – Toronto

Scientists and physicians

Sir Frederick Banting – co-discoverer of insulin
Dr. Charles Best – co-discoverer of insulin
Dr. Norman Bethune – physician, pioneered the use of in-field blood transfusions during the Spanish Civil War, joined the Communist guerillas in China in the 1930s
Dr. Roberta Bondar – astronaut, neurologist, from Sault Ste. Marie
Dr. Robert Buckman – oncologist, president of Humanist Association of Canada
Mathew Evans – inventor, created and patented the first incandescent light bulb in 1874, five years before Thomas Edison's US patent
Dr. Wilbur Franks – physician and inventor; developed first anti-gravity or "G-suit" now used by air crews and astronauts; also noted for his work in cancer research
Dr. James Naismith – physician, inventor of basketball
Daniel David Palmer – founder of chiropractic

Business people

Name	Notable for	Connection to Ontario
Henry Corby (1806–1881)	Founder of Corby Spirit and Wine	lived in Belleville from 1832 until his death in 1881
William Pratt (1928–1999)	1988 XV Winter Olympics organizer, Calgary contractor	born in Ottawa^[9]
Michael Rapino	CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment	raised in Thunder Bay^[10]
Howard Wetston (born 1947)	Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission
William R. White (born 1943)	economist, chaired the Economic and Development Review Committee at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris	born in Kenora