Famous Canadians from Ontario

Many famous Canadians were born or have lived in Ontario, so this list below is far from exhaustive. If it was, I’d need an entire web site just for this topic! So how have I selected who to include?

Here are two things I considered:

-I think the famous Ontarian will interest tourists. He or she might be in the news often, or might have accomplished something important and well-known.

-The person has some kind of physical “site” associated with them – a museum or art gallery, for example – that travellers can visit.

PHOTO to the right: The ivy-covered walls of University of Toronto campus, where Margaret Atwood studied. See Atwood's listing on the next page.

Famous Canadians from Ontario, A-Z

Alanis Morissette (1974 - ) - Singer/songwriter. Born in Ottawa.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922) - Invented the telephone. Born in Scotland but came to Brantford in 1870 with his parents. His former home, The Bell Homestead in Brantford, is open to the public as a museum. It's a beautiful home, and I need to do a page on this soon!

Alice Munro – Short-story writer. Born in the small town of Wingham in 1931.

Christopher Plummer – Actor, film star. Born in 1929 in Toronto.

Colonel R.S. McLaughlin - Founder of General Motors of Canada. You can visit his former mansion, Parkwood, The R.S McLaughlin Estate National Historic Site, in Oshawa.

Dan Aykroyd (1952 - ) - Actor and writer. Born in Ottawa.

Dave Thomas – Actor. Born in 1949 in St. Catharines.

Dionne Quints – The famous quintuplets – five babies who, during the 1930s, became a bit of a circus attraction and distraction from the Depression. Were probably the most famous Canadians in Ontario at the time. You can visit their birthplace in North Bay, the Dionne Quints Museum.

Eugene Levy- Actor. Born in 1946 in Hamilton and graduated from that city's McMaster University.

Frank Gehry – International architect. Grew up in Toronto. Recently re-designed the Art Gallery of Ontario.

George Brown - Father of Confederation and founder of the Globe newspaper. Visit his former home, George Brown House, in Toronto.

Glenn Gould (1932 - 1982) – Pianist and composer. Born in Toronto. One of many famous Canadians who've made it big in the music business.

Gordon Lightfoot (1938 -) – Musician, song-writer. Orillia’s performing arts theatre is named after him.

Graham Greene – Actor. Born in 1952 on the Six Nations Reserve. For an article about the annual powwow on this reserve, see Grand River Champion of Champions Powwow.

Group of Seven – Canada’s most famous artists. You’ll find many of their works in major art galleries including the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada. Some of the members of the Group are buried on the grounds of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Guy Lombardo – Big band leader. Visit the Guy Lombardo Music Centre in his hometown of London.

Homer Watson – 19th century artist. One of the first Canadian painters to gain international fame. Visit his fabulously decorated former home and studio in Kitchener which is now a museum and art gallery for local artists. My sister and I enjoyed visiting this lovely space for art and I'll try to do a page on it soon.

Jim Carrey (1962 - ) - Comedian and actor. Born in Newmarket (near Toronto).

Joe Shuster (1914 - 1992) - Co-creator of Superman, the comic book hero. Born in Toronto.

John McCrae (1872–1918) – Soldier, poet. Author of In Flanders Fields. You can visit his birthplace, McCrae House, in Guelph.

Joseph Brant (or Thayendanegea) (1742 - 1807) - Mohawk chief, scholar, statesman and soldier. You can visit a reconstruction of his former home, The Joseph Brant Museum, in Burlington. Warning though: I was a bit disappointed with this place. This isn’t a “great person’s house museum” with lots of period rooms. It’s really more dedicated to the history of the community. Just be prepared.

Josiah Henson – Former slave and founder of a community for escaped slaves. You can visit his cabin, called Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, near Dresden, Ontario. Henson’s autobiography was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I'm pretty sure my parents took us here as kids, but I need to go back again and when I do, I'll write a page about it.

Justin Bieber (1994 - ) - Teenage pop star. Discovered through a You-Tube video which showed him busking on the steps of Avon Theatre (part of Stratford Festival Theatre) in downtown Stratford Ontario. Now a world-wide sensation.

Karen Kain (1951 - ) – World-famous ballerina. Born in Hamilton.

Keanu Reeves – Actor. Grew up in Toronto. One of many famous Canadians in Hollywood.

Laura Secord (1775 - 1868) – Heroine of the war of 1812. You can visit her former home, The Laura Secord Homestead, in Queenston, and buy her wonderful chocolates or ice cream! The only connection I can see between chocolates and her story is that there was a cow mentioned in her tale, wasn't there??? Cow....milk...chocolate?

Lucy Maud Montgomery – Author of Anne of Green Gables. No, you’re right, she WAS from Prince Edward Island. But she spent the last years of her life in Uxbridge Township. The Leaskdale Manse where she lived and wrote 11 of her 22 novels has been designated an historic site and is being restored. Eventually it will open as a museum.

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