# 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| David J. Phillips (born 1978) | Shark City, Eat Wheaties! | born in Brampton |
| 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

* Kurtis Conner – Hamilton
* Derek Edwards – Timmins
* Dave Foley – Etobicoke
* Evan Fong – Toronto
* Tom Green – Pembroke
* Phil Hartman – Brantford
* Jenny Jones – London
* Mike MacDonald – Ottawa
* Norm Macdonald – Ottawa
* Howie Mandel – Toronto
* Mark McKinney – Ottawa
* Russell Peters – Brampton
* Katherine Ryan – Sarnia
* Ron Sparks – Chatham-Kent
* Scott Thompson – North Bay
* Harland Williams – Toronto
* John Wing Jr. – Sarnia

## 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 – NFL placekicker - Hamilton
* Mike Craig - NHL player – Thorndale
* Laura Creavalle - bodybuilder – Toronto
* Nick Denis – mixed martial artist - 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 – NBA player - 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 – NHL player - Kingston
* Claude Giroux – NHL player - 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 – NHL player - Thunder Bay
* Marial Shayok (born 1995) - basketball player in the NBA and currently in the Israeli Premier Basketball League
* Simisola Shittu (born 1999) – British-born Canadian basketball player for Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Premier League - Burlington
* 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
* 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) – NBA player - 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

* Alex Baumann – Sudbury
* Nathan Brannen – Cambridge
* Patrick Chan – Ottawa
* Gabrielle Daleman – Newmarket
* Victor Davis – Guelph
* Meagan Duhamel – Sudbury
* Lori Dupuis – South Glengarry
* John Fitzpatrick – Toronto
* Chris Jarvis – Grimsby
* Becky Kellar – Hagersville
* Rosie MacLennan – King City
* Conlin McCabe – Brockville
* Scott Moir – London
* Penny Oleksiak – Toronto
* Brian Orser – Belleville
* Elvis Stojko – Richmond Hill
* Adam van Koeverden – Oakville
* Tessa Virtue – London
* Simon Whitfield – Kingston

## Other notable celebrities

* Thalia Assuras – London
* Samantha Bee – Toronto
* Gavin Michael Booth - Amherstburg
* William J. Bruce III - St. Catharines
* 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
* 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
* 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
* J. S. Ewart (1849–1933) – advocate for Canadian independence, from Toronto
* 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
* Charles Best – co-discoverer of insulin
* 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
* Roberta Bondar – astronaut, neurologist, from Sault Ste. Marie
* 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
* 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
* James Naismith – physician, inventor of basketball
* Daniel David Palmer – founder of chiropractic

## Businesspeople

| 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 |
| Michael Rapino | CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment | raised in Thunder Bay |
| 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 |

## Criminals

* Paul Bernardo
* Edwin Alonzo Boyd – led the Boyd Gang in Toronto
* Karla Homolka
* Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad – Palestinian former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; deported
* Johnny Papalia

## Others

* Margaret Hyndman – lawyer and women's rights advocate