List of people from Ontario
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png
Notable people from Ontario, Canada

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.

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.

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

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

Kurtis Conner – Hamilton

Derek Edwards – Timmins

Dave Foley – Etobicoke

Evan Fong – Toronto

Tom Green – Pembroke

Phil Hartman – Brantford[3]

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

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

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

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

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

For a more comprehensive list, see List of musicians from Ontario.

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

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

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

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[11]

Johnny Papalia

Margaret Hyndman – lawyer and women's rights advocate