List of Canadian poets

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" articles.

A

• Mark Abley (born 1955), Canadian poet, journalist, editor and non-fiction writer.
• Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright
• Gil Adamson, novelist, poet, short-story writer (a woman)
• Marie-Célie Agnant (born 1953), Haitian native living in Canada since 1970; novelist, poet and writer of children's books
• Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (born 1965), Native American writer and poet, founder (in 1993) of Kegedonce Press, specializing in indigenous writers
• John Akpata (2003), writer. poet, musician, politician
• Donald Alarie (born 1945), writer, poet and teacher
• Edna Alford, editor, author and poet who co-founded the magazine Dandelion
• Sandra Alland (born 1973), Scottish-Canadian writer, multimedia artist, bookseller, small press publisher and activist
• Donna Allard, editor and poet
• Lillian Allen (born 1951), dub poet
• Anne-Marie Alonzo (1951–2005), playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher, born in Egypt and moved to Canada at the age of 12
• George Amabile (born 1936)
• Marguerite Andersen (born 1924), German-born, primarily francophone writer, academic and editor
• Patrick Anderson (1915–1979), English-born Canadian poet and academic
• Rod Anderson (1935), poet, musician and accountant
• Michael Andre (born 1946), poet, critic and editor living in the United States
• Jeannette Armstrong (born 1948), Native American author, educator, artist, and activist
• David Arnason (born 1940), author and poet
• Rod Anderson (born 1935), poet, musician and Chartered Accountant
• Joanne Arnott (born 1960), Métis poet, essayist, activist writer
• Margaret Atwood (born 1939), poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist and activist
• Margaret Avison (born 1918–2007)

B

• Lisa B, political spoken word poet who has published chapbooks
• Ken Babstock
• Alfred Bailey (1905–1997) poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator
• Jacob Bailey (1731–1808), a Church of England clergyman and poet born in the United States (colony of New Hampshire), immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1779
• Chris Banks (born 1970)
• Kaushalya Bannerji, native of India
• Frances Bannerman
• John Barton (born 1957)
• Gary Barwin, author, composer, children's writer and poet
• Jalal Barzanji (born 1953), Kurdish poet and writer living in Canada since 1998
• Shaunt Basmajian (1950–1990), poet and author
• Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo (born 1967)), Ivoirian born Canadian poet and journalist
• Bill Bauer American-born, living in Canada since 1965, husband of Nancy Bauer
• Nancy Bauer(born 1934), American-born, living in Canada since 1965, wife of Bill Bauer
• Doug Beardsley (born 1941), poet and academic
• Nérée Beauchemin (1850–1931) francophone poet and physician (a man)
• Derek Beaulieu (born 1973) poet, publisher and anthologist.
• Joseph-Isidore Bédard (1806–1833), poet, lawyer and politician
• Ven Begamudré, Indian-born poet, short-story writer, novelist and academic
• Henry Beissel (born 1929), poet, author, writer and editor
• Ken Belford (born 1946)
• John Bemrose, arts journalist, novelist, poet and playwright
• Robbie Benoit (died 2007), poet and writer
• Navtej Bharati, India native and Canadian resident who has published books, including books of poetry, in Punjabi and English; publisher of Third Eye Press
• Jean-Philippe Bergeron, francophone writer and poet
• Craven Langstroth Betts, author and poet
• Navtej Bharati, Punjabi-language poet living in Canada
• Robert Billings (1949–1986), poet and editor
• Earle Birney (1904–1995)
• bill bissett (born 1939)
• Mark Blagrave (born 1956), writer, short-story writer, playwright, poet and academic
• Robin Blaser (born 1925), author and poet (a man)
• Laurie Block (born 1949), a man
• E. D. Blodgett (born 1935), poet, literary critic, and translator
• Robert Boates (born 1954)
• Christian Bök, born "Christian Book" (born 1966), poet and author
• Stephanie Bolster (born 1969), poet and academic
• Roo Borson pen name of Ruth Elizabeth Borson (born 1952), American native living in Canada
• Hédi Bouraoui (born 1932), Tunisian-born Canadian poet, novelist and academic
• Arthur Bourinot (1893–1969), poet and lawyer
• George Bowering(born 1935), novelist, poet, historian, and biographer
• Marilyn Bowering (1949), poet, novelist and playwright
• Tim Bowling (born 1964), poet and novelist
• Alex Boyd, poet, fiction writer, critic, essayist and editor
• Kate Braid, poet and teacher
• Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite (1963–2008), novelist, spoken word artist, dub poet, essayist, digital drummer and short-story writer
• Shannon Bramer (born 1973), poet and teacher
• Dionne Brand (born 1953), poet, novelist, and non-fiction writer born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Canada
• Di Brandt née "Diana Ruth Janzen" (born 1952), poet and literary critic
• Jacques Brault (born 1933), French Canadian poet and translator
• Diana Brebner (1956–2001)
• Brian Brett (born 1950), poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Brewster (born 1922), poet and academic
• Robert Bringhurst (born 1946), poet, typographer and author
• David Bromige (born 1933), Canadian poet living in the United States since 1962
• Nicole Brossard (born 1943), francophone poet and novelist
• Audrey Alexandra Brown (1904–1998)
• Ronnie R. Brown (born 1946), American native living in Canada for most of her adult life
• Robert Budde (born 1966), poet, novelist and academic
• Suzanne Buffam
• April Bulmer (born 1963)
• Murdoch Burnett (born 1953), Canadian poet, performance artist, editor, and community activist
• Mick Burrs
• Aaron Bushkowsky

C

• Stephen Cain (born 1970), poet and academic
• Alison Calder, poet and academic
• Barry Callaghan (born 1937), author and poet; son of the author Morley Callaghan
• Jason Camlot (born 1966), poet, scholar and songwriter
• Anne Cameron (born 1938), novelist, poet, screenwriter and short story writer
• George Frederick Cameron (24 Sept. 1854 – 17 Sept. 1885), poet, lawyer, and journalist
• Wilfred Campbell (1858–1918), poet and Anglican clergyman
• Natalee Caple (born 1970), novelist and poet
• Paul Cargnello(born 1979), Montreal poet, lyricist
• Bliss Carman (1861–1929), poet and critic
• Anne Carson (born 1950), poet, essayist, translator, and academic
• William Chapman (1850–1917), poet, journalist and bureaucrat
• Jean Charbonneau (1875–1960), francophone poet who was the primary founder of the Montreal Literary School
• Herménégilde Chiasson (born 1946), Acadian poet, playwright, journalist, academic and the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
• Robert Choquette (1905–1991), novelist, poet and, briefly, (1968–1970) a diplomat
• Lesley Choyce (born 1951), novelist, writer, children's book writer, poet, and academic who founded Pottersfield Press and hosts the television program "Choyce Words" and "Off the Page"; born in the United States and immigrated to Canada in 1979
• Margaret Christakos (born 1962), poet and university writing teacher
• Evie Christie (born 1979)
• Dave Clark, musician who published a book of poetry
• George Elliott Clarke (born 1960), poet and playwright.
• Wayne Clifford (born 1944)
• Fred Cogswell (1917–2004)
• Leonard Cohen (1934), singer-songwriter, musician, published poet and novelist
• Matt Cohen, 1942–1999), writer and poet
• Don Coles (born 1928), poet, author and academic
• John Robert Colombo (born 1936), poet, anthologist, editor, essayist, and humorist
• Anne Compton (born 1947), poet, critic, and anthologist
• Wayde Compton (born 1972), poet, writer, turntable-based "sound poetry" performer, academic who co-founded Commodore Books, the first black-oriented press in Western Canada
• Jan Conn (born 1952), geneticist and poet living in the United States
• Karen Connelly (born 1969), writer and poet
• Kevin Connolly
• Dennis Cooley (born 1944), poet and academic
• Afua Cooper, Jamaican-born historian and dub poet
• Paulo da Costa Canadian-Portuguese author, editor and translator
• Dani Couture (born 1978), poet, essayist, critic and journalist
• Thomas Cowherd (1817–1907), tinsmith and poet
• Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–1887), poet, novelist and short-story writer
• Octave Crémazie(1827–1879), francophone poet who has been called "the father of French-Canadian poetry" for his patriotic verse
• Lynn Crosbie (born 1963), poet and novelist
• Lorna Crozier began writing under the name "Lorna Uher" (born 1948)
• Michael Crummey (born 1965), poet and writer.
• Julie Crysler, journalist and poet

D

• Cyril Dabydeen (born 1945), native Guyana poet and writer living in Canada
• Kalli Dakos (born 1950), children's poet and teacher
• Mary Dalton, poet and academic
• Joseph A. Dandurand, Native American poet, playwright, and archaeologist
• Beverley Daurio (born 1953)
• Frank Davey (born 1940), poet and academic
• Nicholas Flood Davin (1840–1901), lawyer, journalist, politician and poet
• Tanya Davis, spoken word poet and musician
• Tom Dawe (born 1940), writer, poet, children's book author, artist
• Adriana de Barros (born 1976), Portuguese native who moved to Canada at age 3; illustrator, web designer and poet
• James Deahl (born 1945), moved to Canada from the United States in 1970 and a citizen of both countries; poet, academic and publisher of Unfinished Monument Press; founding member of the Canadian Poetry Association
• Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, performance art duo who have collaborated on performances, films, videos, publications and public art projects since 1989
• Barry Dempster (born 1952), poet and novelist
• Michelle Desbarats
• Christopher Dewdney (born 1951), poet, writer, artist, creative writing teacher and writer in residence at various universities
• Ann Diamond (born 1951), an award-winning Montreal poet, novelist and short-story writer
• Pier Giorgio Di Cicco (born 1949), Italian-born, Canadian poet and priest
• Mary di Michele (born 1949), Italian-born, Canadian poet, author and creative writing teacher
• Robert Dickson (1944–2007), poet, translator and academic.
• Kildare Dobbs (born 1923), Indian-born teacher, poet, editor, short-story writer and travel writer who moved to Canada in 1950
• Jeramy Dodds
• Don Domanski (born 1950)
• Magie Dominic (born 1944), poet and artist
• Jeffery Donaldson, poet and critic
• David Donnell (born 1939), poet and writer
• Candas Dorsey (born 1952), poet and science fiction novelist
• Clive Doucet (born 1946), writer poet, and politician
• Gordon Downie (born 1964), song writer, poet and musician
• Orville Lloyd Douglas (born 1976), poet and writer
• William Henry Drummond (1854–1907) Irish-born Canadian poet
• Louis Dudek (1918–2001) poet, literary critic and publisher
• Marilyn Dumont (born 1955)

E

• Evelyn Eaton (1902–1983), novelist, short-story writer, poet and academic
• Vic Elias (1948–2006), American-born, living in Canada from 1979, poet and academic
• Ronda Eller
• David Elliott (1923–1999), poet and academic
• Rebecca Elson (1960–1999), Canadian-American astronomer, academic writer and poet
• Reuben Epp (born 1920) teacher, school administrator, writer and poet in Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)

F

• Chris Faiers (born 1948), librarian, poet and publisher of Unfinished Monument Press, which he founded in 1978
• Margaret Fairley (1885–1968), English-born Canadian writer, educator and political activist
• Brian Fawcett (born 1944), poet, novelist, nonfiction author and writer
• Charles Fenerty (c. 1821 – 1982), Canadian poet, journalist, and inventor. Published two poems in book format in 1855 and 1866, and wrote over 32 poems (mostly published in local newspapers).
• Ferron, born Debby Foisy (1952), folk singer, songwriter and poet
• George Fetherling, wrote as "Doug Feathering" or "Douglas Fetherling" until 1999 when he began using his middle name (born 1949), American-born poet, novelist, journalist and essayist who moved to Canada at age 18 and became a Canadian citizen
• Robert Finch (1900–1995), poet and academic whose area of expertise was French poetry
• Joan Finnigan (1925–2007), writer, poet, teacher and newspaper reporter
• Jon Paul Fiorentino, poet, novelist, short-story writer, academic and editor of Matrix magazine
• Judith Fitzgerald (born 1952), poet and journalist
• Robert Ford (1915–1998), poet, translator and diplomat
• Raymond Fraser (born 1941), novelist, poet, biographer, essayist and editor
• Louis-Honoré Fréchette (1839–1908), French Canadian poet, politician, playwright and short-story writer
• Patrick Friesen (born 1946), poet and university-level creative writing teacher
• Mark Frutkin (born 1948), American-born novelist and poet who moved to Canada in 1970 as a Vietnam War draft resister

G

• Radovan Gajić (born 1953), native Yugoslavian Serb living in Canada since 1985
• Keith Garebian (born 1943), critic, editor, biographer, and poet
• François-Xavier Garneau (1809–1866), French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and historian
• Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912–1943), first modernist French Canadian poet
• Bill Gaston (born 1953), novelist, playwright, short-story writer and poet
• Antoine Gérin-Lajoie (1824–1882), French Canadian poet and novelist
• Marty Gervais (born 1946), poet, photographer, professor, journalist, and publisher of Black Moss Press
• Angus Morrison Gidney (1803–1882), educator, poet and journalist
• Charles Ignace Adélard Gill (1871–1918), painter and poet
• John Glassco (1909–1981), poet, memoirist and novelist
• Jacques Godbout (born 1933), novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet
• Gérald Godin (1938–1994), French Canadian poet and politician
• Oliver Goldsmith (1794–1861)
• Leona Gom (born 1946), novelist and poet
• Katherine L. Gordon
• Phyllis Gotlieb (born 1926), science fiction novelist and poet
• Sue Goyette (born 1964), poet and novelist
• Neile Graham (born 1958), poet and academic
• Alain Grandbois (1900–1975), French Canadian poet
• Richard Greene
• Leslie Greentree, poet, short-story writer and freelance writer
• Andreas Gripp (born 1964)
• Ralph Gustafson (1909–1995), poet and academic
• Genni Gunn (born 1949), novelist, poet, and translator
• Gregory Wm. Gunn
• Kristjana Gunnars, Icelandic-Canadian poet and novelist

H

• Paul Haines (1933–2003), poet and jazz lyricist, born in the United States and later a Canadian resident
• Phil Hall (born 1953), poet, academic and publisher of broadsides and chapboooks under the Flat Singles Press imprint since 1976
• Jane Eaton Hamilton (born 1954), short-story writer, poet and photographer
• Claire Harris (born 1937)
• Michael Harris
• Sharon Harris (born 1972), writer, poet, artist and photographer
• Richard Harrison
• Paul Hartal (born 1936), painter and poet, born Hungary
• Jill Hartman (born 1974 in poetry), poet and editor
• Elisabeth Harvor (née Deichman) (born 1936), novelist and poet
• Robert Hayman (1575–1629), poet, colonist and Proprietary Governor of Bristol's Hope colony in Newfoundland
• Charles Heavysege (1816–1876)
• Anne Hébert (1916–2000), French-Canadian novelist and poet
• Allison Hedge Coke 1958), poet, writer, artist, activist and academic
• Wilfrid Heighington (1897–1945), soldier, writer, poet lawyer and politician
• Steven Heighton (born 1961), novelist and poet
• David Helwig (born 1938), poet, novelist and essayist; father of Maggie Helwig
• Maggie Helwig (born 1961), poet, novelist, peace and human rights activist; daughter of David Helwig
• Brian Henderson (born 1948), poet, academic and editor
• Robert Hilles (born 1951), poet and novelist
• Clive Holden
• Emily Holton
• Cornelia Hoogland (born 1952), poet and academic
• Sean Horlor (born 1981) poet, former speechwriter, freelance writing consultant
• Harry Howith (born 1934)
• Ray Hsu, poet and academic
• Helen Humphreys (born 1961), poet and novelist
• Al Hunter poet, author, tribal leader, activist
• Aislinn Hunter (born 1969), poet and author
• Bruce Hunter (born 1952), teacher, poet and fiction writer
• Catherine Hunter (born 1957), poet, novelist, editor, academic and critic
• Chris Hutchinson (born 1972)
• Douglas Smith Huyghue (1816–1891), Canadian and Australian poet, fiction writer, essayist, and artist

I

• Susan Ioannou (born 1944)
• Frances Itani (born 1942), novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist

J

• Suzanne Jacob (born 1943), novelist, poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, and critic
• Jemeni
• Paulette Jiles (born 1943), American-born poet and novelist who moved to Canada in 1969
• Rita Joe (1932–2007), Mi'kmaq-Canadian poet and songwriter, called the "poet laureate of the Mi'kmaq people"
• Reg Johanson (born 1968), composition and literature instructor, poet and essayist
• E. Pauline Johnson, also known as "Tekahionwake" (1861–1913)
• D. G. Jones (born 1929), poet, translator and educator
• Eve Joseph (born 1953), poet and author

K

• Surjeet Kalsey, poet, dramatist, short story writer and translator who writes in both Punjabi and English
• Smaro Kamboureli, poet and academic
• Lionel Kearns (born 1937), poet and teacher
• M. T. Kelly (born 1946), novelist, poet and playwright.
• Penn Kemp, novelist, playwright, poet and sound poet
• Leo Kennedy (1907–2000), modernist poet, published in 1930s.
• Robert Kirkland Kernighan (1854–1926), poet, journalist and farmer
• Roy Kiyooka (1926–1994), photographer, poet and artist
• Johann Peter Klassen (1868–1947), Russian Mennonite poet and writer who immigrated to Canada in 1923 and wrote primarily in German
• Sarah Klassen (born 1932), poet and fiction writer
• A. M. Klein (1909–1972), poet, journalist, novelist, and short story writer
• Raymond Knister (1899–1932), novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and journalist
• Joy Kogawa (born 1935), poet and novelist
• Maka Kotto (born 1961), Cameroon-born francophone Canadian, provincial level politician, former Canadian House of Commons member who published a book of poetry in 2002
• Shane Koyczan (born 1976), spoken word poet
• Robert Kroetsch (born 1927)), novelist, poet, non-fiction writer and academic
• Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 1952), novelist, poet and academic

L

• Sonnet L'Abbé, poet and critic
• Pierre Labrie (born 1972), French Canadian poet
• Dany Laferrière (born 1953), Haitian-born francophone novelist, journalist and poet who moved to Canada in 1976
• Archibald Lampman (1861–1899)
• Tim Lander (born 1938)
• Patrick Lane (born 1939)
• M. Travis Lane (born 1934), American-born Canadian poet who moved to Canada in 1960
• Patrick Lane
• Rina Lasnier (1915–1997), French Canaadian poet and playwright
• Evelyn Lau (born 1971), poet and novelist
• Edythe Morahan de Lauzon
• Irving Layton (1912–2006)
• Gérald Leblanc(1947–2005), French Canadian poet, playwright, novelist, essayist and writer
• Félix Leclerc (1914–1988), songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, actor, radio announcer, radio scriptwriter and writer
• Dennis Lee (born 1939), poet, writer and children's fiction author
• John B. Lee (born 1951), author, poet and academic
• Sylvia Legris (born 1960)
• John Lent (1948–2006), poet and novelist
• Douglas LePan (1914–1998), diplomat, poet, novelist and academic
• Tim Lilburn (born 1950), poet and essayist
• Charles Lillard (born 1944–1997), poet and historian
• Dorothy Livesay (1909–1996)
• Billie Livingston (born 1965), novelist and poet
• Douglas Lochhead (1922-2011), poet, librarian, and academic
• Pat Lowther (1935–1975)

M

• Rozena Maart (born 1962), poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, academic and psychotherapist; South African living in Canada
• Karen Mac Cormack (born 1956), experimental poet born in Zambia, who holds dual British/Canadian citizenship, she has moved from Toronto to Buffalo, New York, with her husband, poet Steve McCaffery
• Bernell MacDonald (born 1948)
• Hugh MacDonald (born 1945), poet, children's writer and editor
• Wilson MacDonald (1880–1967)
• Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941–1987), novelist and poet
• Walter Scott MacFarlane (1896–1979), poet and soldier
• Tom MacInnes (1867–1951), poet and writer
• Andrea MacPherson, poet and novelist
• Jay Macpherson (born 13 June 1931), poet and academic (a woman)*
• Keith Maillard(born 28 February 1942), author and poet
• Charles Mair (1838 or 1840–1927), poet and political activist
• Robert Majzels (born 1950), novelist, poet, playwright and translator
• Alice Major, contemporary poet
• Kim Maltman (born 1951), poet and physicist (a man)
• Eli Mandel (1922–1992), poet, essayist and academic
• Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born 1953 Jamaican-born dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director; Jamaican native living in Canada
• David Manicom (born 1960), diplomat, poet and novelist
• Lee Maracle(born 1950), Native American poet and author
• Nicole Markotic, poet and novelist
• Daphne Marlatt, née Buckle (born 1942)
• Tom Marshall (1938–1993), Canadian poet and novelist
• Camille Martin (born 1956), Canadian poet and collage artist
• Robin Mathews (born 1931), Canadian poet and professor, known for his political activism against United States foreign policy
• Seymour Mayne (born 1944), poet and literary translator
• Chandra Mayor (born 1973), poet and novelist
• Robert McBride (1811 or 1812–1895), Irish-born Canadian poet
• Steven McCabe, contemporary artist and poet
• Steve McCaffery (born 1947), poet and academic born in England and moved to Toronto in 1968; husband of poet Karen MacCormack
• John McCrae (1872–1918), poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the battle of Ypres; best known for writing the famous war memorial poem In Flanders Fields.
• Roy McDonald (born 1937), is a poet and busker (street performer)
• David McFadden (born 11 October 1940), poet, fiction writer, and travel writer
• Wendy McGrath, poet and novelist
• David McGimpsey, poet, humorist and academic
• Nadine McInnis (born 1956), poet, short-story writer and essayist
• James McIntyre (1828–1906), called "The Cheese Poet"
• Don McKay (born 1942), poet, editor, and educator
• Barry McKinnon (born 1944)
• Brendan McLeod (born 1979), poet, novelist, member of The Fugitives.
• Susan McMaster (born 1950), poet, literary editor, and spoken word performer
• Steve McOrmond (born 1957), poet and academic
• Mary Melfi (born 1951), Italian-born poet, novelist and playwright who immigrated to Canada as a young child
• Bruce Meyer (born 1957), poet and academic
• Pauline Michel novelist, poet, playwright, songwriter and screenwriter
• Anne Michaels (born 1958), poet and novelist
• Roy Miki (born 1942), poet and academic
• Kenneth G. Mills (1923–2004)
• Gaston Miron (1928–1996), French Canadian poet, writer, and editor
• Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942), Primarily an author, but also a poet from PEI.
• Marion E. Moodie (1867–1958), nurse, botanist and poet
• Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), British-born Canadian author and poet
• Jacob McArthur Mooney (born 1983)
• Pamela Mordecai (born 1942), Jamaican writer, teacher, scholar and poet living in Canada since 1994
• Pierre Morency (born 1942), French Canadian writer, poet and playwright
• Dwayne Morgan spoken word artist, motivational speaker, event organizer and poet
• Jeffrey Morgan (born 19??), Primarily a writer, but with poetry published in Rolling Stone and Bakka Magazine.
• Kim Morrissey (born 1955), poet and playwright
• Colin Morton (born 1948)
• A. F. Moritz (born 1947), poet and academic
• Daniel David Moses (born 1952), Native American Canadian poet and playwright
• Erin Mouré (born 1955)
• William Murdoch (1823–1887), Scottish-Canadian poet, writer and gasworks manager who immigrated to Canada in 1854
• George Murray, poet and an associate editor at Maisonneuve Magazine, contributing editor at several literary magazines
• Susan Musgrave (born 1951), poet and children's writer
• Jane Musoke-Nteyafas (born c. 1976), poet, writer, visual artist, columnist and playwright

N

• Akhtar Naraghi
• Roger Nash (born 1942), English-born philosopher, poet and academic
• Lyle Neff (born 1969), poet, journalist, essayist and literary critic
• Lorri Neilsen Glenn, poet, ethnographer, essayist and academic
• Émile Nelligan (1879–1941), francophone poet from Quebec
• Holly Nelson, writer, poet, activist, journalist, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba (2005–2006)
• Pierre Nepveu (born 1946), French Canadian poet, novelist and essayist
• W. H. New (born 1938), poet, editor and literary critic
• bpNichol Barrie Phillip Nichol, who often went by his lower-case initials and last name, with no spaces (1944–1988), poet and writer
• John Newlove (1938–2003)
• Alden Nowlan (1933–1983), poet, novelist, playwright and journalist

O

• Patrick O'Connell (1944–2005)
• Sheree-Lee Olson, novelist, poet and journalist
• Michael Ondaatje (born 1943), Sri Lankan novelist and poet with Canadian citizenship
• Heather O'Neill, novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist
• Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska (born 1930), French-Canadian writer, novelist, essayist and poet
• Richard Outram (1930–2005), poet and writer; co-founder, with his wife, Barbara Howard, of The Gauntlet Press

P

• P. K. Page (born 1916)
• Corrado Paina (born 1954), Italian poet living in Canada since 1987, editorial director of the quarterly magazine ItalyCanada Trade
• John Pass (born 1947), English-born Canadian poet and academic who has lived in Canada since 1953; married to poet and novelist Theresa Kishkan
• Neil Peart (born 1952), musician, songwriter, producer, author, drummer of the Canadian Rock band Rush
• Sasenarine Persaud Guyana-born, Canadian essayist, novelist, short story writer, and poet
• W. T. Pfefferle, poet, writer and academic
• M. NourbeSe Philip (born 1947), poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and short story writer
• Ben Phillips (born 1947), poet, teacher and publisher
• Alison Pick, poet and novelist
• Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (born 1975), American-born poet, spoken-word poet, writer, educator and social activist living in Canada
• Jean-Guy Pilon (born 1930), French Canadian poet
• George Pirie (1799);1870), newspaper publisher and poet
• Al Pittman (1940–2001), poet and playwright
• Ted Plantos (1943–2001), poet, writer, editor
• Emily Pohl-Weary, novelist, poet and magazine editor
• Sandy Pool
• B. W. Powe (born 1955), author, poet and academic
• Claire Pratt (1921–1995), artist, poet and editor; daughter of writer and editor Viola Whitney and E. J. Pratt, a poet and academic
• E. J. Pratt (1882–1964), poet and academic
• Frank Prewett (1893–1962), poet and broadcaster, who spent most of his life in the United Kingdom; a war poet of World War I
• Robert Priest (born 1951), poet and children's author
• Stefan Psenak (born 1969), French Canadian poet, playwright and novelist
• Al Purdy (1918–2000), writer, editor and poet

Q

• Andy Quan (born 1969), author who moved to Australia
• Joseph Quesnel (1746–1809), French Canadian composer, poet, and playwright
• Sina Queyras, poet and academic

R

• Gurcharan Rampuri poet of Punjabi descent who writes in the Punjabi language
• Theodore Harding Rand (1835–1900), educator and poet
• Ian Iqbal Rashid (born 1971), Canadian/British Muslim poet, screenwriter and filmmaker of Indian descent; has lived primarily in London
• Angela Rawlings (a.k.a. a.rawlings)
• Wayne Ray, co-founder of the Canadian Poetry Association, publisher in London, Ontario
• James Reaney (1926–2008), poet, playwright, and literary critic
• Michael Redhill (born 1966), American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist
• D. C. Reid (born 1952), poet, novelist and short story writer
• Jamie Reid (born 1941)
• Tracy Repchuk (born 1965), writer, poet and editor; president and founder of the Canadian Federation of Poets; editor of Poetry Canada magazine
• Shane Rhodes
• Charles G.D. Roberts (1860–1943), poet and prose writer; called the "Father of Canadian Poetry" for his influence on other poets
• Lisa Robertson (born 1961), poet, essayist and writer
• Ajmer Rode, poet, playwright and writer in Punjabi and English
• Gordon Rodgers (born 1952), poet, novelist and clinical psychologist
• Carmen Rodríguez (born 1948), Chilean-Canadian author, poet, educator, political social activist, co-founder of Aquelarre Magazine; exiled from Chile after the 1973 coup; writes in both Spanish and English and translates her own work
• Linda Rogers (born 1944), poet and children's writer
• Joe Rosenblatt (born 1933), Governor General's Award-winning experimentalist.
• Laisha Rosnau (born 1972), novelist and poet
• Bruce Ross, poet, author, academic and past president of the Haiku Society of America
• Stuart Ross (born 1959), writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor
• W.W.E. Ross (born 1894), imagist poet of 1920s and 1930s, has been called "Canada's first modern poet."
• Stephen Rowe (born 1980)

S

• Lake Sagaris (born 1956), journalist, poet and translator living in Chile
• Trish Salah, academic, writer and poet whose first volume of poetry appeared in 2002
• Peter Sanger (born 1943), poet and prose writer, critic, editor and academic born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1953
• Charles Sangster (1822–1893)
• Félix-Antoine Savard (1896–1982), priest, academic, poet, novelist and folklorist
• Jacob Scheier, poet whose first collection of verses won the 2008 Governor General's Award for English poetry; editor; son of Libby Scheier; lives in New York City
• Libby Scheier (1946–2000), United States-born poet and short story writer who moved to Canada in 1975; mother of Jacob Scheier
• Matthew Schreuder (born 1971), writer and poet living in Australia
• Andreas Schroeder (born 1946), German-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer
• Stephen Scobie (born 1943), poet, critic, and academic
• Duncan Campbell Scott (1862–1947), poet and writer
• Duncan Scott, see Duncan Campbell Scott
• F. R. Scott, also known as Frank Scott (1899–1985), poet, intellectual and constitutional expert
• Peter Dale Scott (born 1929), poet and academic
• Olive Senior (born 1941), Jamaican poet and short story writer living in Canada
• Robert W. Service (1874–1958), poet and writer
• Kathy Shaidle (born 1964), author, columnist and poet
• Francis Sherman (1871–1926)
• Joseph Sherman (1945–2006), poet and visual arts editor
• Carol Shields (1935–2003), American-born Canadian novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright and writer
• Trish Shields, poet and novelist
• Sandy Shreve, poet, newspaper reporter and office worker
• Goran Simic (born 1952), Bosnian-born poet, playwright and short-story writer living in Canada since 1995
• Melanie Siebert
• Anne Simpson (born 1956), poet and novelist
• Sue Sinclair
• Sonja Skarstedt (born 1960), poet, short-story writer, playwright, painter and illustrator who founded and edited the now-defunct literary magazine Zymergy (1987–1991), and founded Empyreal Press in 1990
• Robin Skelton, sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Georges Zuk", a purported French surrealist (born 1925–1997), British-born Canadian academic, writer, poet, translator and anthologist who immigrated to Canada in 1963; a founder and editor of The Mahalat Review
• Daniel Sloate (1931–2009), translator, poet, playwright and academic
• Carolyn Smart (born 1952), English-born poet, author and academic
• Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986), poet and novelist whose book, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, detailed her romance with English poet George Barker
• A. J. M. Smith (1902–1980), poet and academic
• Douglas Burnet Smith (born 1949)
• John Smith (born 1927), poet and academic
• Michael V. Smith novelist, poet and filmmaker
• Ron Smith (born 1943), poet, author, editor, playwright, and former academic; founder and co-publisher of Oolichan Books in 1984; influential in the founding of Theytus Books in 1971
• Karen Solie (born 1966)
• John Solomon, writer of erotic poetry books
• David Solway (born 1941), poet, educational theorist, travel writer and literary critic
• Madeline Sonik (born 1960), novelist, short-story writer, children's-book author, editor and poet
• Carolyn Marie Souaid (born 1959), poet and editor, living in Montreal, co-founder of Poetry Quebec magazine
• Raymond Souster(born 1921), poet and (now retired) bank executive
• Esta Spalding (born 1966), American-born Canadian author, screenwriter and poet
• Heather Spears (born 1934), poet, novelist, and artist living in Denmark since 1962
• Birk Sproxton (1943–2007), poet and novelist
• Harold Standish (1919–1972), poet and novelist
• George Stanley, American-born poet and academic associated with the San Francisco Renaissance in his early years, moved to Canada in the 1970s; associated with New Star Books and the Capilano Review
• Carmine Starnino, essayist, educator, and editor
• John Steffler (born 1947), poet and novelist
• Ian Stephens (died 1996), journalist, musician and poet associated with the spoken word movement
• Ricardo Sternberg (born 1948), poet born in Brazil, educated in the United States
• Richard Stevenson
• Shannon Stewart
• W. Gregory Stewart (born 1950), poet, science fiction author, short-story writer who works at a public utility and lives in Los Angeles, California
• John Stiles, poet living in London, United Kingdom
• Anne Stone, poet, writer and performance artist
• Betsy Struthers (born 1951), poet and novelist
• Andrew Suknaski (1942–2012), Saskatchewan poet
• Alan Sullivan (1868–1947), poet, short-story writer, railroad surveyor and mining engineer
• Rosemary Sullivan (born 1947), poet, biographer, academic and anthologist
• Moez Surani (born 1979), poet
• John Sutherland (1919–1956), poet, literary critic, and magazine editor who founded and edited First Statement in 1942 and its successor publication, Northern Review in 1945
• Robert Swanson
• Robert Sward (born 1933), American and Canadian poet and novelist
• George Swede (born 1940), Latvian-born Canadian children's writer and poet who writes Haiku in English
• Todd Swift (born 1966), poet, editor and academic living in the United Kingdom
• Anne Szumigalski (1922–1999)

T

• Bruce Taylor (born 1960)
• Heather Taylor (born 1977), poet, playwright and teacher living in England since 2002
• Ruth Taylor (1961–2006), poet, editor and academic
• John Terpstra, poet and carpenter
• Sharon Thesen (born 1946), poet and academic
• Edward William Thomson (born 1849–1924), journalist, writer and poet
• John Thompson (1938–1976)
• Matthew Tierney (born 1970)
• Jose Tlatelpas (born 1953), Mexican native and Canadian resident; Native cultures poet, publisher, and political activist
• Mohamud Siad Togane (born 1943), Somali native and Canadian resident; poet, academic, and political activist
• Lola Lemire Tostevin (born 1937), poet, novelist and writer
• Rhea Tregebov (born 1953), poet and children's writer
• Raymond D. Tremblay, poet, writer, social services agency official
• Roland Michel Tremblay (born 1972), French-Canadian author, poet, scriptwriter, development producer and science-fiction consultant who moved to London, England in 1995
• Tony Tremblay (born 1968), French-Canadian poet, writer, spoken word artist, journalist and radio personality
• Peter Trower (born 1930), poet and novelist
• Mark Truscott(born 1970), born in the United States
• Élise Turcotte (born 26 June 1957), French-Canadian writer and poet
• John Tyndall
• Daniel Scott Tysdal (born 1978)

U

• Marie Uguay (1955–1981), French- Canadian poet
• Priscilla Uppal (born 1974), poet and novelist
• David UU (David W. Harris) (1948–1994), visual poet

V

• R. M. Vaughan, poet, novelist and playwright
• Paul Vermeersch (born 1973)
• Gilles Vigneault (born 1928), Québéc poet, publisher and singer-songwriter; Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist
• Pamelia Sarah Vining (1826–1897)
• Garth Von Buchholz (also G.A. Buchholz) (born 1968) British Columbia poet, dark fiction author, playwright, journalist and arts critic

W

• Miriam Waddington née Dworkin 1917–2004), poet, short story writer and translator
• Fred Wah (born 1939), poet, novelist, and scholar
• Bronwen Wallace (1945–1989), poet and short story writer
• Tom Walmsley (born 1948), playwright, novelist, poet and screenwriter
• Agnes Walsh (born 1950), actor, poet, playwright and storyteller
• David Waltner-Toews (born 1948), epidemiologist, essayist, poet, fiction writer, veterinarian, and a specialist in the epidemiology of food and waterborne diseases, zoonoses and ecosystem health
• Terry Watada author, writer, and poet
• Alison Watt (born 1957), writer, poet and painter
• Tom Wayman (born 1945), poet and academic
• Phyllis Webb (born 1927), poet and radio broadcaster
• John Weier (born 1949)
• Robert Stanley Weir (1856–1926), judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to O Canada, the national anthem of Canada
• Zachariah Wells (born 1976), poet, critic, essayist and editor
• Darren Wershler-Henry (born 1966), experimental poet, non-fiction writer and cultural critic
• David Wevill (born 1935)
• Dawud Wharnsby (born 1972), singer-songwriter, poet, performer, educator and television personality
• Michael Whelan (born 1858–1937) teacher, bookkeeper and poet
• Zoe Whittall (born 1976), poet and novelist
• Anne Wilkinson (1910–1961) Canadian poet, writer and essayist
• Sheri-D Wilson, poet and playwright
• Rob Winger, poet and academic
• Theresa Wolfwood, political activist and poet
• George Woodcock (1912–1995), poet, essayist, critic, biographer and historiian; the founder (in 1959) of the journal Canadian Literature
• Lance Woolaver (born 1948) is a Canadian author, poet, playwright and director

Y

• J. Michael Yates (born 1938), poet and dramatist
• Jean Yoon (born 1962), actor, poet and playwright
• D'bi Young born in Jamaica, moved to Canada in 1993; dub poet, actor and playwright

Z

• Robert Zend (1929-1985), Hungarian-Canadian poet, fiction writer, and multi-media artist
• David Zieroth
• Rachel Zolf, poet and editor
• Carolyn Zonailo (born 1947), poet and publisher
• Jan Zwicky (born 1955), philosopher, poet, essayist, and violinist

See also

• List of Canadian writers
• List of poets
• List of poetry awards
• List of years in poetry
• List of years in literature