List of people from British Columbia

This is a list of notable people who are from British Columbia, Canada, or have spent a large part or formative part of their career in that province.

Premiers
See List of premiers of British Columbia.

Members of Parliament

 * Jim Abbott
 * David Anderson
 * Thomas Speakman Barnett
 * Dave Barrett, former Premier of British Columbia
 * Ron Basford
 * Don Bell
 * Thomas Berger
 * Hewitt Bostock
 * Margaret Bridgman
 * Chuck Cadman
 * Iona Campagnolo, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
 * Kim Campbell, also Prime Minister of Canada
 * Pat Carney
 * Raymond Chan
 * Mary Collins
 * Chuck Cook
 * Jean Crowder
 * Nathan Cullen
 * John Cummins
 * Libby Davies
 * Stockwell Day
 * Amor De Cosmos, second Premier of British Columbia
 * Edgar Dewdney, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
 * Herb Dhaliwal
 * Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia
 * Tommy Douglas
 * John Duncan
 * David Emerson
 * Paul Forseth
 * Hedy Fry
 * Jim Gouk
 * Gurmant Grewal
 * Nina Grewal
 * Herbert Wilfred Herridge
 * Russ Hiebert
 * Jay Hill
 * Betty Hinton
 * Frank Howard
 * William Irvine
 * Pauline Jewett
 * Peter Julian
 * Douglas Jung
 * Jim Karpoff
 * Sophia Leung
 * Gary Lunn
 * Grace MacInnis
 * Ian Alistair Mackenzie
 * Roy MacLaren
 * Len Marchand
 * Keith Martin
 * Gerry McGeer
 * James Moore
 * Henry Nathan Jr.
 * Stephen Owen
 * George Pearkes, later Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
 * Art Phillips, former mayor of Vancouver
 * Elmore Philpott
 * John Reynolds
 * Nelson Riis
 * Svend Robinson
 * Paul St. Pierre
 * Tom Siddon
 * Bill Siksay
 * Bob Skelly
 * Darrel Stinson
 * Chuck Strahl
 * John Turner, also Prime Minister of Canada
 * Ian Waddell
 * Mark Warawa
 * Randy White

Jurists

 * Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of Canada
 * Alfred Scow, First Status Indian judge BC Provincial Court

Other politicians

 * Emery Barnes
 * Wesley Drewett Black, Provincial Secretary 1952-1972
 * Richard Blanshard, first Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
 * Rosemary Brown
 * Frank Arthur Calder, First Nations MLA and Nisga'a politician
 * Sir James Douglas, colonial governor (all colonies)
 * Jennifer Granholm, Canadian/American politician and former Governor of Michigan (2003-2011); naturalized US citizen
 * Ginger Goodwin, Labour organizer
 * Guujaaw, Haida politician, activist and cultural leader
 * Edward John
 * Arthur Kennedy, governor of the united colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
 * David Lam, philanthropist and Lieutenant-Governor
 * Rafe Mair
 * Grace McCarthy
 * Joy McPhail
 * Frederick Seymour, Governor of Vancouver Island and of British Columbia
 * William Fraser Tolmie
 * Joseph Trutch, colonial Lieutenant-Governor and first Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia

Scientists

 * Ian Affleck, physicist
 * Robert Edward Bell, nuclear physicist
 * Margaret Benston, chemist, computer scientist
 * Michael Bigg, marine biologist
 * Jim Chamberlin, aerodynamicist
 * Wade Davis, ethnobotanist
 * Ryan C.N. D'Arcy, neuroscientist
 * James E. Gill, geologist
 * John R. Hendricks, mathematician
 * Abram Hoffer, biochemist, physician
 * Frances Oldham Kelsey, pharmacologist
 * Vit Klemes, hydrologist
 * Mel Krajden, medical scientist
 * Robert T. Lackey, fisheries scientist, ecologist, zoologist
 * Robert Langlands, mathematician
 * Jerrold E. Marsden, applied mathematician
 * Bill Mathews, geologist, volcanologist, engineer
 * Brian McConaghy, forensic scientist
 * Ian McTaggart-Cowan, ecologist
 * Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, meteorologist
 * Faron Moller, computer scientist
 * Barth Netterfield, astrophysicist
 * Edward Faraday Odlum, geologist
 * Santa J. Ono, biologist
 * Robert Methven Petrie, astronomer
 * Jerilynn Prior, medical scientist, endocrinologist
 * Scott D. Sampson, paleontologist
 * Martin Schechter, epidemiologist
 * Robert Fletcher Shaw, engineer
 * John Alexander Sinton, medical scientist, doctor, malariologist
 * Frank Smith, psycholinguist
 * Michael Smith, biochemist
 * Wayne Smith, statistician
 * David Suzuki, biologist, ecologist
 * Robert Thirsk, engineer, physician, astronaut
 * John Lancelot Todd, physician, parasitologist
 * Bjarni Tryggvason, engineer, astronaut
 * Paul Tseng, applied mathematician
 * William Vickrey, Nobel Prize-winning economist
 * Andrew Weaver, climate scientist
 * Franklin White, public health scientist

Television/film actors and musicians

 * Daniel Adair, drummer
 * Bryan Adams, singer
 * Evan Adams, First Nations actor (Smoke Signals)
 * Pamela Anderson, actress (Baywatch, V.I.P.)
 * Aaron Ashmore, actor (Warehouse 13)
 * Shawn Ashmore, actor (X-Men)
 * Long John Baldry, musician, songwriter
 * Gil Bellows, actor
 * Michael Bublé, singer
 * Raymond Burr, actor (Perry Mason)
 * Jim Byrnes, musician, actor (Highlander)
 * Nicholas Campbell, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
 * Chris Carter, screenwriter, producer, director (X-Files)
 * Anna Cathcart, actress
 * Kim Cattrall, actress (Sex and the City)
 * Sarah Chalke, actress (Scrubs)
 * Tommy Chong, actor, comedian, cannabis rights activist (Cheech & Chong)
 * Hayden Christensen, actor (Star Wars)
 * Amanda Crew, actress (Silicon Valley)
 * Thomas Middleditch, actor (Silicon Valley)
 * Mackenzie Davis, actress (Terminator: Dark Fate)
 * William B. Davis, actor (X-Files)
 * Yvonne De Carlo, actress (The Munsters)
 * Mac Demarco, musician, multi-instrumentalist
 * Edward Dmytryk, film director
 * James Doohan, actor (Star Trek)
 * Atom Egoyan, film director
 * Aryana Engineer, actress (Orphan)
 * Jodelle Ferland, actress
 * Noel Fisher, actor (The Twilight Saga)
 * Roy Forbes (Bim), musician
 * Judith Forst, opera singer
 * David Foster, songwriter, record producer
 * Michael J Fox, actor, producer and health activist
 * Nelly Furtado, singer-songwriter
 * Chief Dan George, actor (Little Big Man, Cariboo Cowboy)
 * Evan Goldberg, screenwriter (Superbad, Pineapple Express)
 * Matthew Good, musician
 * Grimes (musician), musician
 * June Havoc, actress
 * Carter Hayden, actor and voice actor (Bakugan: New Vestroia, Total Drama)
 * Bill Henderson (Canadian singer), musician (Chilliwack)
 * Ben Heppner, opera singer
 * Matt Hill, Canadian-American voice actor
 * Jacob Hoggard, musician (Hedley)
 * John Ireland, actor
 * Robert Ito, actor
 * Joshua Jackson, actor (Dawson’s Creek)
 * Carly Rae Jepsen, musician
 * Alexz Johnson, singer, actress
 * Avan Jogia, actor
 * Joe Keithley, musician, songwriter (D.O.A.)
 * Allan King, film director
 * Taylor Kitsch, actor and model (Friday Night Lights)
 * Elias Koteas, actor (The Thin Red Line)
 * Diana Krall, musician
 * Kristin Kreuk, actress (Smallville)
 * Nicholas Lea, actor (X-Files)
 * Darryl Lenox, comedian
 * Lights (musician), musician
 * Evangeline Lilly, actress (Lost, The Hurt Locker)
 * Jessica Lowndes, actress (90210)
 * Jessica Lucas, actress
 * Alexander Ludwig, actor (Vikings, The Hunger Games)
 * Leon Mandrake, illusionist (Mandrake the Magician)
 * Sarah McLachlan, musician
 * Brandon Jay McLaren, actor (Power Rangers: S.P.D., She's The Man)
 * Rosa Mendes, model, professional wrestler
 * Shay Mitchell, actress (Pretty Little Liars)
 * Carrie-Anne Moss, actress (The Matrix)
 * Meghan Ory, actress
 * Molly Parker, actress (House of Cards)
 * Barbara Parkins, actress
 * Daniel Powter, musician, singer-songwriter, and pianist
 * Jason Priestley, actor
 * Kirsten Prout, actress
 * John Qualen, actor
 * Josh Ramsay, musician (Marianas Trench)
 * Mike Reno, musician, songwriter
 * Ryan Reynolds, actor (Green Lantern, Deadpool)
 * Donnelly Rhodes, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
 * Emily Bett Rickards, actress
 * Seth Rogen, actor, comedian, writer, producer (Pineapple Express, Superbad, Knocked Up)
 * Will Sasso, actor (Mad TV)
 * Pablo Schreiber, actor (The Wire, Orange is the New Black)
 * Michael Shanks, actor
 * Nell Shipman, actress, film director
 * Alexis Smith, actress
 * Dallas Smith, musician
 * Cobie Smulders, actress (How I Met Your Mother)
 * Jewel Staite, actress
 * Ryan Stiles, comedian, producer (Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
 * Dorothy Stratten, actress, model
 * Bobby Taylor, Motown singer (Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers)
 * Jon Mikl Thor, singer, performer and bodybuilder
 * Meg Tilly, actress
 * Jacob Tremblay, actor
 * Daniel Wesley, musician
 * Finn Wolfhard, actor, voice actor, musician (Stranger Things, It)
 * Glenn Wool, stand-up comedian
 * Sophia Reid-Gantzert, actress and dancer

Athletes

 * Glenn Anderson, ice hockey player
 * Peter Bakonyi (1933–1997), Hungarian-born Canadian Olympic fencer
 * Jason Bay (born 1978), Canadian-American baseball player
 * Russell Baze
 * Jamie Benn, ice hockey player
 * Jordie Benn
 * Mitch Berger (born 1972)
 * Rod Brind'Amour
 * Hy Buller (1926–1968), All Star NHL ice hockey player
 * John Davison
 * Ryan Dempster, baseball player
 * Brenden Dillon
 * Ryan Ellis, ice hockey player
 * Brandon Clarke, Canadian-American NBA player
 * Craig Forrest
 * Jeff Francis
 * Kaleigh Fratkin (born 1992), professional ice hockey player
 * Freddy Fuller
 * Danny Gare
 * Leah Goldstein (born 1969), Canadian-born Israeli professional road racing cyclist winner of the Race Across America, World Bantamweight Kickboxing Champion, and Israel Duathlon national champion
 * Shaul Gordon (born 1994), Canadian-Israeli Olympic fencer
 * Nancy Greene
 * Dan Hamhuis
 * Rick Hansen
 * Rich Harden
 * Shawn Horcoff
 * Jordyn Huitema
 * Daniel Igali
 * Barret Jackman
 * Harry Jerome
 * Teyo Johnson
 * Harry Jones
 * Paul Kariya
 * Larry Kwong
 * Andrew Ladd
 * Silken Laumann
 * Brett Lawrie
 * Bob Lenarduzzi
 * Adam Loewen
 * Mark McMorris
 * Willie Mitchell
 * Greg Moore
 * Justin Morneau (born 1981), baseball player
 * Brendan Morrison
 * Steve Nash (born 1974), basketball player
 * Cam Neely
 * Rob Niedermayer
 * Scott Niedermayer
 * Michael Nonni
 * Tyler O'Neill
 * Pat Onstad
 * Simon Pond
 * Carey Price
 * Mark Recchi
 * Gareth Rees
 * Morgan Rielly
 * Griffin Reinhart
 * Max Reinhart
 * Sam Reinhart
 * Kevin Reynolds, figure skater; 2013 Four Continents champion and 2014 Winter Olympics team silver medalist
 * Cliff Ronning
 * Joe Sakic
 * Eli Schenkel (born 1992), Olympic fencer
 * Christine Sinclair
 * Paul Spoljaric, baseball player
 * Troy Stecher, ice hockey player
 * Ari Taub (born 1971), Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler
 * John Tenta
 * Cliff Thorburn
 * Conor Trainor
 * John van't Schip
 * Larry Walker, baseball player
 * Percy Williams, sprinter
 * Steve Yzerman (born 1965), ice hockey player

Artists

 * Hank Bull, painter
 * Emily Carr, artist
 * Kate Craig, artist
 * Olea Marion Davis, ceramist, sculptor
 * Iris Hauser (born 1956), painter
 * Fred Herzog, photographer
 * Clive Holden, poet, film director and visual artist
 * Karen Jamieson, dancer and choreographer
 * Beatrice Lennie, painter, sculptor
 * Glenn Lewis
 * Attila Richard Lukacs, artist
 * Charles Marega, sculptor
 * Len Norris, editorial cartoonist
 * Sophie Pemberton, painter
 * Bill Reid, artist
 * David Rimmer, filmmaker
 * Jack Shadbolt, artist
 * Godfrey Stephens, artist
 * Shane Wilson, artist

Journalists and writers

 * Doug Beardsley, poet and educator
 * Bill Bissett, poet
 * George Bowering, author
 * Robert Bringhurst, poet
 * Douglas Coupland, author (genX fiction)
 * Janice Cowan
 * Ranj Dhaliwal, author (crime-fiction)
 * Ralph Edwards, naturalist/author (Caruso of Lonesome Lake)
 * Timothy Findley, author
 * Allan Fotheringham, columnist (politics, often satirical)
 * Austin Gary, author
 * William Gibson, author (Neuromancer)
 * Terry Glavin, columnist/author and naturalist (ecology, fisheries, politics)
 * John Stephen Hill, playwright Steve Hill (When I'm 64)
 * Bruce Hutchison, editor/columnist and author (The Fraser)
 * W.P. Kinsella, author/columnist (Shoeless Joe Goes To Iowa)
 * Mark Leiren-Young, author/playwright/screenwriter (Never Shoot a Stampede Queen)
 * Malcolm Lowry, novelist (Under the Volcano, October Ferry To Gabriola)
 * Eswyn Lyster, genealogist and war bride author (Most Excellent Citizens, Trafford Press 2010)
 * Keith Maillard, novelist, poet (Gloria, Motet, Two Strand River)
 * Daphne Marlatt, poet
 * Alan Morley, journalist and historian (Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis)
 * Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray, editor, columnist
 * Susan Musgrave, poet
 * Kliph Nesteroff, writer, broadcaster
 * Rohan O'Grady, novelist (Let's Kill Uncle, Pippin's Journal)
 * Stan Persky, author and journalist
 * Eden Robinson, novelist (Monkey Beach)
 * Spider Robinson, author (science fiction)
 * George Ryga, playwright (The Ecstasy Of Rita Joe)
 * Omar Sachedina, journalist and news anchor (CTV National News)
 * Paul St. Pierre (Breaking Smith's Quarter Horse)
 * Robin Skelton, poet
 * Lauren Southern, right-wing activist and YouTuber
 * William Fraser Tolmie, HBC Fur trade employee, medical doctor and later politician
 * Margaret Trudeau, author
 * Jack Wasserman, columnist (society, show biz, politics)

Others

 * Brother Twelve
 * Mary John Sr.
 * Masajiro Miyazaki, osteopath, coroner and "bush doctor"
 * Jim Pattison, businessman and Fortune 500 member
 * Caspar Phair, Lillooet, pioneer and first government agent
 * Jack Pickup, physician, the "Flying Doctor of British Columbia"
 * Arran Stephens, author; founder of Nature's Path
 * Amy Soranno, animal rights activist
 * Skip Triplett, former president of Kwantlen Polytechnic University
 * Jessica Yaniv, transgender activist