List of people from Nova Scotia

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

Pre-Confederation

 * David H. Armstrong, United States Senator from Missouri, born in Nova Scotia
 * Alexander Graham Bell
 * Samuel Cunard
 * Noel Doiron
 * Charles Fenerty, inventor of wood pulp process for papermaking
 * Rose Fortune
 * Abraham Pineo Gesner, discovered kerosene oil
 * Jerome of Sandy Cove
 * Joseph Howe
 * Gordon Benjamin Isnor
 * William Paget
 * Angus MacAskill, suffered gigantism, stood 7'9"
 * Joshua Slocum, first to sail solo around the world
 * Richard John Uniacke
 * William Valentine

17th-18th century
See also:
 * John Allan - American Revolution
 * Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste - Queen Anne's War
 * Joseph-Nicolas Gautier - Father Le Loutre's War
 * John Gyles - King William's War
 * John Handfield - Fort Vieux Logis
 * Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour - Acadian Civil War
 * Chief Madockawando - King William's War
 * Father Pierre Maillard - Father Le Loutre's War
 * Charles Morris - King George's War
 * Pierre II Surette - French and Indian War

19th century
See also:
 * George Augustus Westphal - War of 1812

Actors

 * Elliot Page
 * Chase Tang
 * Page Fletcher

Architects

 * Brian MacKay-Lyons

Artists

 * Mark A. Brennan
 * Alex Colville
 * William E. deGarthe
 * Maud Lewis
 * Gilbert Stuart Newton
 * Edith Smith
 * Michael Ernest Sweet
 * Christopher Webb

Cartoonists

 * Hal Foster

Diplomats

 * Audri Mukhopadhyay

Doctors

 * Clement Ligoure, first Black physician in Nova Scotia

Filmmakers

 * Mike Clattenburg
 * Phil Comeau
 * Paul Donovan
 * Jason Eisener
 * Thom Fitzgerald
 * Andrew Hines
 * Daniel MacIvor
 * Noah Pink

Industry

 * Ezra Churchill
 * Cyrus S. Eaton
 * Alfred Fuller, founder of the Fuller Brush Company
 * Alexander Keith, brewer
 * John W. Sobey

Inventors

 * Walter Harris Callow, inventor of wheelchair accessible bus
 * Charles Fenerty, inventor of wood pulp process for papermaking
 * Abraham Pineo Gesner, inventor of kerosene

Media

 * William Coates Borrett, founder of CHNS-FM, the province's first commercial radio station

Musicians

 * People
 * Brian Ahern (producer)
 * Carroll Baker (singer) Carroll Baker CM
 * Gary Beals
 * Buck 65
 * George Canyon,born Fredrick George Lays
 * Wilf Carter
 * Classified
 * Holly Cole
 * J. P. Cormier
 * Melanie Doane
 * Denny Doherty
 * Todd Fancey
 * Leslie Feist
 * J.D. Fortune
 * Bruce Guthro
 * Rebekah Higgs
 * Ashley MacIsaac
 * Natalie MacMaster
 * Kevin MacMichael
 * Rita MacNeil
 * Matt Mays
 * Sarah McLachlan
 * Matt Minglewood
 * Anne Murray
 * Joel Plaskett
 * Steve Poltz
 * Heather Rankin
 * Jimmy Rankin
 * Stan Rogers, from Ontario but lived in and sang about Nova Scotia
 * Gordie Sampson
 * Tara Slone
 * Laura Smith
 * Hank Snow
 * Scott Storch
 * Portia White
 * JRDN
 * Jody Upshaw


 * Bands
 * April Wine
 * The Barra MacNeils
 * The Rankin Family
 * Rawlins Cross
 * Sloan
 * The Trews

Religion

 * Henry Alline, the Apostle of Nova Scotia
 * Moses E. Kiley, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Scientists

 * Donald O. Hebb
 * Abraham Pineo Gesner
 * Thomas Mason
 * Simon Newcomb
 * Willard Boyle

Sports announcers

 * Danny Gallivan
 * Paul Hollingsworth

Adventurers

 * Howard Blackburn
 * Joshua Slocum

Baseball players

 * Vince Horsman
 * Fred Lake

Boat racers

 * Angus Walters

Canoeists

 * Richard Dalton
 * Stephen Giles
 * Michael Scarola

Kayakers

 * Jillian D'Alessio
 * Karen Furneaux
 * Sue Holloway
 * Anne Dodge

Bodybuilders

 * Cindy Phillips

Boxers

 * Chris Clarke
 * Buddy Daye
 * George Dixon
 * Ray Downey
 * Bryan Gibson
 * Kirk Johnson
 * Sam Langford
 * Carroll Morgan
 * Marty O'Donnell
 * Randall Thompson

Men’s Curling

 * Shawn Adams
 * Mark Dacey, from Saskatoon but curls out of the Mayflower Curling Club
 * Andrew Gibson
 * Rob Harris
 * Bruce Lohnes

Women’s Curling

 * Mary-Anne Arsenault
 * Nancy Delahunt, a Montrealer who has lived in Halifax for several years
 * Meredith Harrison
 * Colleen Jones
 * Kim Kelly
 * Jill Mouzar

Harness racing

 * Bill O'Donnell

Show jumping

 * Ian Millar

NFL players

 * Buck MacDonald
 * Eddie Murray
 * Tyrone Williams

CFL players
Marty Martinello born in Sydney, N.S. Played in CFL, won Grey Cup with Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Named to N.S. Ports Hall of Fame.
 * Tyrone Williams

Rugby union players

 * Morgan Williams

Soccer players

 * Stephen Hart
 * Ante Jazic
 * Jacob Shaffelburg

Gymnasts

 * Ellie Black

Administrators

 * Frederick E. Betts, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
 * Hanson Dowell, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association

Men

 * Paul Andrea, 150 NHL games in the 1960s and 1970s
 * Drake Batherson
 * Dennis Bonvie
 * Eric Boulton
 * David Brine
 * John Brophy
 * Sidney Crosby
 * Mal Davis
 * Ryan Flinn
 * Danny Gallivan
 * William Hollett
 * Don Koharski
 * Craig MacDonald
 * Lowell MacDonald
 * Parker MacDonald
 * Al MacInnis, Hall of Famer
 * Nathan MacKinnon
 * Cail MacLean
 * Paul MacLean
 * Al MacNeil
 * Brad Marchand
 * Mike McPhee
 * Dean Melanson
 * Glen Murray
 * Pokey Reddick
 * Bill Riley
 * Jody Shelley
 * James Sheppard
 * Zach Sill
 * Jon Sim
 * Bobby Smith
 * Colin White
 * Matthew Highmore
 * Ryan Graves

Women

 * Jillian Saulnier
 * Blayre Turnbull
 * Carly Jackson

Sports journalists

 * Alex J. Walling

Cross-country skiers

 * Sue Holloway

Swimmers

 * Nancy Garapick
 * Sandy Goss

Track and field athletes

 * Duncan Gillis
 * Aileen Meagher

Professional wrestlers

 * Rocky Johnson
 * Great Antonio

Powerlifters

 * John "Jackie" Barrett

Writers

 * John Boileau (born in New Brunswick, but writing career in Nova Scotia)
 * Ernest Buckler
 * Lesley Choyce
 * George Elliott Clarke
 * Darren Greer
 * Thomas Chandler Haliburton
 * Wendy Lill
 * Hugh MacLennan
 * Alistair MacLeod (born in Saskatchewan, but lived a significant amount of time in, wrote about, and was buried in, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia)
 * Leo McKay Jr.
 * Adriana Porter
 * Thomas Head Raddall
 * Spider Robinson (1970s and '80s)
 * Margaret Marshall Saunders
 * John Stiles
 * Michael Ernest Sweet
 * Budge Wilson
 * Maria Frances Ann Morris