List of people from British Columbia

This is a list of notable people born, raised, or long-time resident in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

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
• Gerry McGeer
• Roy MacLaren
• Grace MacInnis
• Ian Alistair Mackenzie
• Len Marchand
• Keith Martin
• 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 the Supreme Court of Canada
• Anthony Palmer, justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia

Other politicians

• Richard Blanshard, first Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
• Sir James Douglas, colonial governor (all colonies)
• Frederick Seymour, Governor of Vancouver Island and of British Columbia
• Arthur Kennedy, Governor of the united colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
• Joseph Trutch, colonial Lieutenant-Governor and first Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia
• Edward John
• Rafe Mair
• Joy McPhail
• Emery Barnes
• Grace McCarthy
• Rosemary Brown
• Jennifer Granholm, governor of Michigan; naturalized US citizen
• William Fraser Tolmie
• Wesley Drewett Black (Provincial Secretary 1952-1972)
• David Lam, philanthropist and Lieutenant-Governor

Scientists

• David Suzuki, biologist/ecologist
• Wade Davis, ethnobotanist
• David Pearson, computer scientist
• Michael Smith, biochemist
• Franklin White, public health scientist
• Jerrold E. Marsden, applied mathematician
• Jim Chamberlin, aerodynamicist
• James E. Gill, geologist
• Bjarni Tryggvason, engineer/astronaut
• Robert Thirsk, engineer/physician/astronaut
• Wayne Smith, statistician
• William Vickrey, Nobel Prize-winning economist
• Faron Moller, computer scientist
• Robert Fletcher Shaw, engineer
• Michael Bigg, marine biologist
• Frank Smith, psycholinguist
• John R. Hendricks, mathematician
• Abram Hoffer, biochemist/physician
• Vit Klemes, hydrologist
• Robert Methven Petrie, astronomer
• Scott D. Sampson, paleontologist
• John Alexander Sinton, medical scientist/doctor/malariologist
• John Lancelot Todd, physician/parasitologist
• Frances Oldham Kelsey, pharmacologist
• Ian Affleck, physicist
• Mel Krajden, medical scientist
• Margaret Benston, chemist/computer scientist
• Martin Schechter, epidemiologist
• Bill Mathews, geologist/volcanologist/engineer
• Brian McConaghy, forensic scientist
• Edward Faraday Odlum, geologist
• Santa J. Ono, biologist
• Jerilynn Prior, medical scientist/endocrinologist
• Paul Tseng, applied mathematician
• Robert Edward Bell, nuclear physicist
• Robert T. Lackey, fisheries scientist/ecologist/zoologist
• Robert Langlands, mathematician
• Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, meteorologist
• Barth Netterfield, astrophysicist

Show Business personalities

• Bryan Adams, singer (Kingston Ont)
• Pamela Anderson, actress (Baywatch, V.I.P.)
• Randy Bachman, musician (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)(Winnipeg)
• Long John Baldry, musician/songwriter
• Fairuza Balk, actress (The Wizard of Oz)
• Gil Bellows, actor
• Michael Bublé, singer
• Raymond Burr, actor (Perry Mason)
• Peter Breck, actor
• Jim Byrnes, musician/actor (Highlander)
• Nicholas Campbell, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
• Yvonne De Carlo, actress (The Munsters)
• Chris Carter, screenwriter/producer/director (X-Files)
• Kim Cattrall, actress (Sex in the City)
• William B. Davis, actor (X-Files)
• Edward Dmytryk, film director
• James Doohan, actor (Star Trek)
• Sarah Chalke, actress (Scrubs)
• Aryana Engineer, actress (Orphan)
• Roy Forbes (Bim), musician
• Judith Forst, opera singer
• David Foster, songwriter, record producer
• Matthew Good, musician
• Nelly Furtado, singer
• Chief Dan George, actor (Little Big Man, Cariboo Cowboy)
• June Havoc, actress
• Ben Heppner, opera singer
• John Ireland, actor
• Robert Ito, actor
• Alexz Johnson, singer/actress
• Joe Keithley, musician/songwriter (D.O.A.)
• Elias Koteas, actor (The Thin Red Line)
• Diana Krall, musician
• Kristin Kreuk, actress (Smallville)
• Nicholas Lea, actor (X-Files)
• Eric McCormack, actor
• Sarah McLachlan, musician
• Leon Mandrake, illusionist (Mandrake the Magician)
• Joni Mitchell, singer/songwriter
• Cory Monteith, actor/singer
• Carrie-Anne Moss, actress
• Barbara Parkins, actress
• Jason Priestley, actor
• John Qualen, actor
• Mike Reno, musician/songwriter
• Ryan Reynolds, actor
• Coco Rocha, fashion model
• Donnelly Rhodes, actor (Da Vinci's Inquest)
• Seth Rogen, actor/comedian/writer/producer (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Zack & Miri Make A Porno)
• Michael Shanks, actor
• Nell Shipman, actress, film director
• Alexis Smith, actress
• Cobie Smulders, actress- How I Met Your Mother
• Dorothy Stratten, actress/model
• Bobby Taylor, Motown singer (Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers)
• Jon Mikl Thor, singer/performer and bodybuilder
• Meg Tilly, actress
• Tina Tyler, adult actress
• Rosa Mendes, Professional Wrestler
• Jacob Hoggard, musician (Hedley)
• Carly Rae Jepsen, musician

Sports personalities

• Glenn Anderson
• Jason Bay
• Russell Baze
• Rod Brind'Amour
• Mitch Berger
• Dayana Cadeau
• John Davison
• Ryan Dempster
• Craig Forrest
• Terry Fox
• Jeff Francis
• Danny Gare
• Nancy Greene
• Rick Hansen
• Shawn Horcoff
• Daniel Igali
• Barret Jackman
• Teyo Johnson
• Paul Kariya
• Andrew Ladd
• Bob Lenarduzzi
• Trevor Linden
• Adam Loewen
• Willie Mitchell
• Greg Moore
• Justin Morneau
• Brendan Morrison
• Steve Nash
• Cam Neely
• Rob Niedermayer
• Scott Niedermayer
• Pat Onstad
• Simon Pond
• Mark Recchi
• Gareth Rees
• Cliff Ronning
• Joe Sakic
• Paul Spoljaric
• John Tenta
• Cliff Thorburn
• John van't Schip
• Larry Walker
• Percy Williams
• Steve Yzerman
• Rich Harden
• Harry Jerome
• Silken Laumann

Artists

• Emily Carr, artist
• Fred Herzog, photographer
• Clive Holden, poet, filmdirector and visual artist
• Attila Richard Lukacs, artist
• Len Norris, editorial cartoonist
• Sophie Pemberton, painter
• Bill Reid, artist
• Jack Shadbolt, artist
• Godfrey Stephens, artist
• Shane Wilson, artist

Journalists and Writers

• Doug Beardsley, poet and educator
• Bill Bissett, poet
• Robert Bringhurst, poet
• Douglas Coupland, author (genX fiction)
• Ranj Dhaliwal, author (crime-fiction)
• Philip K. Dick, author (science fiction)
• Ralph Edwards, naturalist/author (Caruso of Lonesome Lake)
• Allan Fotheringham, columnist (politics, often satirical)
• Bruce Hutchison, editor/columnist and author (The Fraser)
• Timothy Findley, author
• Austin Gary, author
• Airicka Phoenix, author
• Terry Glavin, columnist/author and naturalist (ecology, fisheries, politics)
• W.P. Kinsella, author/columnist (Shoeless Joe Goes To Iowa)
• Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray, editor/columnist
• Malcolm Lowry, novelist (Under the Volcano, October Ferry To Gabriola)
• Eswyn Lyster, genealogist and war bride author (Most Excellent Citizens, Trafford Press 2010)
• Alan Morley, journalist and historian (Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis)
• Susan Musgrave, poet
• Kliph Nesteroff, writer, broadcaster
• Spider Robinson, author (science fiction)
• George Ryga, playwright (The Ecstasy Of Rita Joe)
• Paul St. Pierre (Breaking Smith's Quarter Horse)
• Robin Skelton, poet
• Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun religion reporter
• Margaret Trudeau, author
• Jack Wasserman, columnist (society, show biz, politics)

Others

• Brother Twelve, cult leader
• Stephen Charlie, criminal convicted of prostituting a child online
• Mary John, Sr.
• David Lam, philanthropist and Lieutenant-Governor
• Masajiro Miyazaki, osteopath, coroner and "bush doctor"
• Jim Pattison, businessman and Fortune 500 member
• Caspar Phair, Lillooet pioneer and first government agent