# List of people from Cape Breton

This is a list of notable people who have lived on Cape Breton Island.

## Arts

* Steve Arbuckle, actor from Donkin
* The Barra MacNeils, singing group
* John Beardman, abstract painter
* Kate Beaton, webcomic artist from Mabou, winner of the 2009 Doug Wright Award for "Best Emerging Talent"
* Nathan Bishop, singer-songwriter from Celtae
* Kay Boutilier, singer, perhaps better known as "My Name is Kay"
* John Allan Cameron, singer-songwriter, from Glencoe Station, credited as the "godfather" of Cape Breton's modern Celtic music revival
* Ronald Caplan, historian, publisher, member of the Order of Canada
* Lynn Coady, author, winner of the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize
* Nathan Cohen, theatre critic, broadcaster, publisher
* J. P. Cormier, singer-songwriter; fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar player; Chéticamp
* Lee Cremo, fiddle player
* Mark Day, film and television actor, writer, and producer
* Aselin Debison, singer-songwriter
* Don Domanski, poet
* Carolyn Dunn, film and television actor from Whitney Pier
* Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald, fiddle player from White Point
* Robert Frank, photographer
* Danny Gallivan, Hockey Night in Canada sportscaster
* John Gracie, singer-songwriter
* Bruce Guthro, singer-songwriter
* Drake Jensen, singer-songwriter
* Rita Joe, Mi'kmaw poet and songwriter
* Angus MacAskill, giant and circus performer
* Allie MacDonald, actress
* Frankie MacDonald, YouTube phenomenon and winner of the Vital Cape Breton Excellence Award
* Martin MacDonald, orchestral conductor
* Mitch MacDonald, singer-songwriter
* Linden MacIntyre, journalist, broadcaster, novelist, winner of 2009 Giller Prize
* Ashley MacIsaac, fiddle player
* Daniel MacIvor, actor, playwright, theatre director and film director
* Billy MacLellan, actor (Nobody, Defiance, Murdoch Mysteries)
* Hugh MacLennan, Governor General's Awards-winning author, professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award
* Alistair MacLeod, author
* Buddy MacMaster, fiddle player
* Natalie MacMaster, fiddle player
* Rita MacNeil, singer-songwriter
* Matt Minglewood, musician
* Farley Mowat, writer, had his summer residence in Cape Breton
* Scott Oake, sportscaster
* Daniel Petrie, Hollywood filmmaker
* The Rankin Family, singers-songwriters
* Molly Rankin, musician from Inverness
* Rick Ravanello, actor, Hart's War; various TV series, including 24, CSI and Desperate Housewives
* Harold Russell, Academy Award-winning actor for his portrayal of Homer Parrish in the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives
* Gordie Sampson, singer-songwriter
* Douglas September, singer-songwriter
* Richard Serra, sculptor
* Slowcoaster, rock band
* Amy Spurway, author
* Tom Fun Orchestra, rock band
* Morgan Toney, Mi'kmaw fiddle player
* Scott Turner, songwriter

## Athletics

* Paul Boutilier
* Norm Ferguson
* Trevor Fahey
* Aaron Johnson
* Andrew MacDonald
* Al MacInnis
* Mike McPhee
* Johnny Miles
* Ryan Rozicki
* Bobby Smith
* Doug Sulliman
* Kevin Morrison
* Logan Shaw

## Politics, the law, and business

* John George Bourinot (younger), 3rd Clerk of the House of Commons (Canada)
* John Buchanan, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Gerald Butts, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
* William Davis, coal miner murdered by British Empire Steel Corporation police and namesake of Davis Day in New Waterford, Nova Scotia
* Mayann Francis, first Black Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
* Clarence Gillis, Member of Parliament
* Ruth Goldbloom, philanthropist, member of the Order of Canada
* Alasdair Graham, Senator
* Gordon Sidney Harrington, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Alexander Graham Bell
* Angus L. MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Donald MacDonald, President of the Canadian Labour Congress and MLA
* Finlay MacDonald, Senator
* Rodney MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Allan MacEachen, Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister
* Russell MacLellan, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Kevin S. MacLeod, Canadian Secretary to the Queen
* Donald Marshall, Jr., wrongly convicted Mi’kmaq activist
* David Mathews, former Mayor of New York City under the British during the American Revolution
* Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada
* J.B. McLachlan, trade-unionist, journalist, political activist, and revolutionary
* John W. Morgan, Mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality
* Robert Muir, Member of Parliament; Senator
* George Henry Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia
* Lisa Raitt, Conservative MP and former federal Minister of Transport, Labour and Natural Resources
* Irving Schwartz, businessman, philanthropist, member of the Order of Canada
* Alexander S. Williams, NYPD officer, candidate for US Senate

## Religion

* Moses Coady, Roman Catholic priest, helped found the Co-operative Antigonish Movement at St. Francis Xavier University
* Moses E. Kiley, Roman Catholic archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* Reverend Norman McLeod, Presbyterian minister, St Ann's; migrated in the 1850s with 800 settlers from surrounding communities to Waipu, New Zealand
* James "Father Jimmy" Tompkins, Roman Catholic priest, helped found the Co-operative Antigonish Movement at St. Francis Xavier University

## Sciences

* Walter Mackenzie, Dr. - Dean of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton
* Arthur B. McDonald, astrophysicist and joint winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics

## Other

* John Bernard Croak V.C.
* Neil McLean, a New Zealand public works contractor and sportsman
* Isaac Phills, Order of Canada recipient