List of people from Ontario

Provincial flag of 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/or Voice Actors

Name	Notable for	Connection to Ontario
Will Arnett (born 1970)	actor, voice actor, and comedian	born in Toronto
Matt Austin (born 1978)	actor from Power Rangers: SPD	born in Toronto
Dan Aykroyd (born 1952)	actor, musician, comedian, producer, and screenwriter from Saturday Night Live	born in Ottawa
Neve Campbell (born 1973)	actress from the Scream series of horror movies	born in Guelph
John Candy (1950-1994)	actor from Home Alone and Uncle Buck	born in Newmarket
Jim Carrey (born 1962)	actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer from Dumb and Dumber and Bruce Almighty	born in Newmarket
Michael Cera (born 1988)	actor and musician from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Superbad	born in Brampton
Sarah Chalke (born 1976)	actress from Scrubs and Roseanne	born in Ottawa
Juan Chioran (born 1963)	Argentine-born actor, voice actor, and singer known for his voice roles in Beyblade: Metal Fusion and Grossology	lived in Toronto and Stratford
A. J. Cook (born 1978)	actress from Criminal Minds and Final Destination 2	born in Oshawa, raised in Whitby
Paulo Costanzo (born 1978)	actor from Royal Pains	born in Brampton
Daniel DeSanto (born 1980)	actor and voice actor from Mean Girls and Are You Afraid of the Dark?	born in Toronto
Kevin Duhaney (born 1984)	actor and rapper from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder	born in Whitby
Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin (born 1985)	voice actor best known for voicing Tyson Granger in the Beyblade original saga	born in Toronto
Victor Garber (born 1949)	actor from The Flash and Titanic	born in London
Ryan Gosling (born 1980)	actor from The Notebook	born in London
Shenae Grimes (born 1989)	actress from 90210	born in Toronto
Corey Haim (1971-2010)	actor from The Lost Boys and Lucas	born in Toronto
Jennifer Irwin (born 1975)	actress from Superstar	born in Toronto
Andrew Jackson (born 1963)	actor and voice actor known for his voice roles in Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge and Beyblade: Metal Fusion	born in Newmarket
Stana Katic (born 1978)	actress from Castle	born in Hamilton
Eugene Levy (born 1946)	actor from the American Pie series of films	born in Hamilton
Rachel McAdams (born 1978)	actress from The Notebook	born in St. Thomas
Scott McCord (born 1971)	voice actor known for voicing Dan Kuso, the protagonist from Bakugan	born in Sarnia
Eric McCormack (born 1963)	actor from Will and Grace	born in Toronto
Derek McGrath (born 1951)	actor from My Secret Identity	born in Timmins
Shay Mitchell (born 1987)	actress from Pretty Little Liars	born in Mississauga
Rick Moranis (born 1953)	actor from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters	born in Toronto
Al Mukadam (born 1985)	actor from Radio Free Roscoe	born in Toronto
Mike Myers (born 1963)	actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, and film producer best known for voicing Shrek in the Shrek series of films	born in Scarborough
Sophie Nelisse (born 2000)	teen actress	born in Windsor
Sandra Oh (born 1971)	Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actress	born in Ottawa
Jeffrey Parazzo (born 1978)	actor from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder	born in Toronto
Dan Petronijevic (born 1981)	voice actor	born in Scarborough
Mary Pickford (1892-1979)	silent screen film star; co-founder of United Artists and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences	born in Toronto
Sarah Polley (born 1979)	actress, writer, director, and political activist	born in Toronto
Alycia Purrott (born 1983)	actress from Power Rangers: SPD	born in London
David Reale	voice actor known for voicing Kai Hiwatari in the Beyblade original saga	born in Caledon
Kathleen Robertson (born 1973)	actress from Beverly Hills, 90210 and Scary Movie 4	born in Hamilton
Kelly Rowan (born 1965)	actress from The O.C.	born in Ottawa
Corey Sevier (born 1984)	actor	born in Ajax
Martin Short (born 1950)	actor, comedian, singer, writer, voice actor, and producer	born in Hamilton
Jay Silverheels (1912-1980)	First Nations actor	born in Brantford
John Stocker (born 1947)	voice actor	born in Toronto
Tara Strong (born 1973)	voice actress best known for her various voice roles	born in Toronto
Dave Thomas (born 1949)	actor and television writer	born in St. Catharines
Chris Violette (born 1981)	actor from Power Rangers: SPD	born in Mississauga
Lisa Yamanaka (born 1983)	voice actress	born in Toronto

Comedians

• Evan Fong – Toronto
• Dave Foley – Etobicoke
• Tom Green – Pembroke
• Phil Hartman – Brantford^[1]
• Jenny Jones – London
• Norm Macdonald – Ottawa
• Howie Mandel – Toronto
• Mark McKinney – Ottawa
• Russell Peters – Brampton
• Scott Thompson – North Bay
• Harland Williams – Toronto

Professional athletes

• Sean Avery – retired hockey player from North York
• Anthony Bennett – basketball player from Toronto
• Steve Christie – Hamilton
• Mike Craig – Thorndale
• Laura Creavalle – Toronto
• Nick Denis – North Bay
• Phil Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
• Tony Esposito – Sault Ste. Marie
• Simon Farine – basketball player from Toronto
• Mike Fisher – hockey player from Peterborough
• Rick Fox – Toronto
• Doug Gilmour – Kingston
• Claude Giroux – Hearst
• Wayne Gretzky – Brantford
• James Hinchcliffe – Oakville
• Tim Horton – Cochrane
• Cory Joseph – Pickering
• Curtis Joseph – Keswick
• Eric Lindros – London
• Jamaal Magloire – Toronto
• Frank Mahovlich – Timmins
• Rick Nash – Brampton
• Daniel Nestor – Toronto
• Bobby Orr – Parry Sound
• Pete Orr – Richmond Hill
• Milos Raonic – Thornhill
• Jim Rutherford – Beeton
• Patrick Sharp – Thunder Bay
• Darryl Sittler – Kitchener
• Trevor Smith – hockey player
• Eric Staal – Thunder Bay
• Jordan Staal – Thunder Bay
• Marc Staal – Thunder Bay
• Steven Stamkos – Markham
• Tristan Thompson – Brampton
• Raffi Torres – Toronto
• Paul Tracy – Scarborough
• Joey Votto – Etobicoke
• Andrew Wiggins – basketball player from Toronto
• Nigel Wilson – Oshawa

Politicians

• Philip Downing
• Stephen Harper – 22nd Prime Minister of Canada (2006-2015) and former Conservative Party leader – Leaside
• John T. Jarvis
• Paul Martin – 21st Prime Minister of Canada (2003-2006) – Windsor
• James McMillan – Hamilton
• Justin Trudeau – 23rd Prime Minister of Canada (2015-present) – Ottawa

Olympic athletes

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

Other notable celebrities

• Thalia Assuras – London
• Don Cherry – Kingston
• William Winer Cooke – Brantford
• Adam Copeland – Orangeville
• Linda Evangelista – St. Catharines
• Melyssa Ford – Toronto
• Frank Gehry – Toronto
• Danielle Graham – Guelph
• Shalom Harlow – Oshawa
• Michiel Horn – Toronto
• Peter Jennings – Toronto
• Lynn Johnston – Collingwood
• Firdaus Kharas – Ottawa
• Gail Kim – Toronto
• Lisa LaFlamme – Kitchener
• Ferdinand Larose - created the Larose Forest, Prescott and Russell
• Lainey Lui – Toronto
• Steve Mackall – Toronto
• Lorne Michaels – Toronto
• Alice Munro – Wingham
• Daniel Negreanu – poker player, Toronto
• Kevin Newman – Toronto
• Quddus – Toronto
• Ivan Reitman – Hamilton
• Jason Reso – Orangeville
• Sandie Rinaldo – Toronto
• John Roberts – Toronto
• Lloyd Robertson – Stratford
• Morley Safer – Toronto
• David Shore – London
• Trish Stratus – Richmond Hill
• John Saunders (sports reporter) - 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

• 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
• Alessia Cara – Mississauga
• Keshia Chanté – Ottawa
• Bruce Cockburn – Ottawa
• Deborah Cox – Toronto
• 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^[2]
• Hail The Villain – Oshawa
• Sarah Harmer – Burlington
• illScarlett – Mississauga
• Kardinal Offishall – Scarborough/Toronto
• Vikas Kohli – Mississauga
• James LaBrie – Penetanguishene
• Henry Lau – Toronto
• Avril Lavigne – Napanee
• Gordon Lightfoot – Orillia
• Lights – Timmins
• Little X – Toronto
• Guy Lombardo – London
• Brian Melo – Hamilton
• Shawn Mendes – Pickering
• Metric – Toronto
• Alanis Morissette – Ottawa
• My Darkest Days – Toronto
• Our Lady Peace – Toronto
• Peaches – Toronto
• Protest The Hero – Whitby
• Anastasia Rizikov – Toronto
• Rush – Toronto
• Saga (band) – Oakville
• Paul Shaffer – Thunder Bay
• 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
• Vanity – Niagara Falls
• Tamia Washington – Windsor
• U.S.S. (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) – Stouffville, Markham and Toronto
• Walk Off The Earth – Burlington
• The Weeknd – Scarborough
• Neil Young – Toronto
• Joel Zimmerman (deadmau5) – 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
• 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

Business people

• Howard I. Wetston - Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission

Criminals

• Paul Bernardo
• Edwin Alonzo Boyd - led the Boyd Gang in Toronto
• Karla Homolka

See also

• List of University of Toronto people

References

1. Parish, James Robert (2004). The Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-07-142189-0.
2. The history of the Forest Hill neighbourhood by Elli Davis, accessed on June 30, 2011.