List of Canadian poets

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Contents

• 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

A

• Mark Abley (born 1955), poet, journalist, editor, and non-fiction writer.
• Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright
• José Acquelin (born 1956)
• Gil Adamson, novelist, poet, and short-story writer
• Randell Adjei
• Marie-Célie Agnant (born 1953), Haitian native living in Canada since 1970; novelist, poet and writer of children's books
• Neil Aitken (born 1974), poet, editor, and translator
• Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (born 1965), Anishinaabe writer and poet from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation, founder (in 1993) of Kegedonce Press, specializing in indigenous writers
• 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)
• Madhur Anand (born 1971), poet and scientist
• Marguerite Andersen (1924–2022), German-born, primarily francophone writer, academic and editor
• Patrick Anderson (1915–1979), English-born Canadian poet and academic
• Robert T. Anderson (1880–1960), Alberta poet.
• Rod Anderson (1935), poet, musician, and accountant
• Michael Andre (born 1946), poet, critic, and editor living in the United States
• Jeannette Armstrong (born 1948), Syilx Okanagan author, educator, artist, and activist
• Tammy Armstrong
• David Arnason (born 1940), author and poet
• Joanne Arnott (born 1960), Métis poet, essayist, and activist writer
• Margaret Atwood (born 1939), poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist, and activist
• Charlotte Aubin
• Martine Audet (born 1961)
• Oana Avasilichioaei, poet and translator
• Margaret Avison (1918–2007)

B

• Ken Babstock (born 1970)
• Elizabeth Bachinsky
• Britta Badour
• Alfred Bailey (1905–1997), poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator
• Jacob Bailey (1731–1808), Church of England clergyman and poet born in the United States (colony of New Hampshire), immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1779
• Marie Annharte Baker (born 1942) is an Anishnabe poet and author
• Chris Banks (born 1970)
• Kaushalya Bannerji, Indian-born poet
• Frances Bannerman (1855–1944), painter and poet
• Simina Banu
• Joelle Barron
• John Barton (born 1957)
• Gary Barwin (born 1964), 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 poet and journalist
• Bill Bauer (1932–2010), 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
• Derek Beaulieu (born 1973), poet, publisher, and anthologist.
• Joseph-Isidore Bédard (1806–1833), poet, lawyer, and politician
• Ven Begamudré (born 1956), Indian-born poet, short-story writer, novelist, and academic
• Henry Beissel (born 1929), poet, author, writer, and editor
• Billy-Ray Belcourt
• Ken Belford (born 1946)
• Lesley Belleau
• Marlène Belley (born 1963),^[1]
• John Bemrose, arts journalist, novelist, poet, and playwright
• Gwen Benaway
• Roxanna Bennett
• Robbie Benoit (died 2007), poet and writer
• Jovette Bernier (1900–1981), Quebec poet, novelist, and journalist^[2]
• Jean-Philippe Bergeron (born 1978), francophone writer and poet
• Craven Langstroth Betts (1853–1941), author and poet
• Navtej Bharati, Indian-born poet and writer in Punjabi and English, publisher of Third Eye Press
• Bertrand Bickersteth
• Robert Billings (1949–1986), poet and editor
• Brandi Bird
• Earle Birney (1904–1995)
• Bill Bissett (born 1939)
• Cassandra Blanchard
• Mark Blagrave (born 1956), writer, short-story writer, playwright, poet, and academic
• Robin Blaser (1925–2009), author and poet
• Laurie Block (born 1949), poet and educator
• E. D. Blodgett (1935–2018), poet, literary critic, and translator
• Ali Blythe, poet and editor
• Selina Boan
• Robert Boates (born 1954)
• Christian Bök, (born Christian Book 1966), poet and author
• Dennis E. Bolen, (born 1953), novelist, journalist and poet
• Stephanie Bolster (born 1969), poet and academic
• Shane Book
• 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 (born 1969), poet, fiction writer, critic, essayist, and editor
• Frances Boyle
• D. M. Bradford
• Kate Braid (born 1947), 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 (1933–2022), French Canadian poet and translator
• Diana Brebner (1956–2001)
• Brian Brett (born 1950), poet and novelist
• Elizabeth Brewster (1922–2012), poet and academic
• Robert Bringhurst (born 1946), poet, typographer, and author
• Eve Brodlique (1867–1949), poet, author, journalist
• David Bromige (1933–2009), 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), United States-born living in Canada for most of her adult life
• Colin Browne
• Charles Tory Bruce (1906–1971), poet, journalist and fiction writer
• Julie Bruck
• Suzanne Buffam
• April Bulmer (born 1963)
• Murdoch Burnett (1953–2015), poet, performance artist, editor, and community activist
• Mick Burrs (1940–2021)
• Aaron Bushkowsky (born 1957)
• Arthur de Bussières (1877–1913)

C

• Charmaine Cadeau
• Alison Calder (born 1969), poet and academic
• Frank Oliver Call (1878–1956)
• Barry Callaghan (born 1937), author, poet, and son of the author Morley Callaghan
• Jason Camlot (born 1967), poet, scholar, and songwriter
• Anne Cameron (born 1938), novelist, poet, screenwriter, and short-story writer
• George Frederick Cameron (1854–1885), 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
• Kate Cayley, poet, writer, and theatre director
• Weyman Chan (born 1963), poet
• Catherine Chandler (born 1950), poet, 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), poet
• Jillian Christmas, poet
• Chuan Sha, Chinese-born Canadian poet and author ^[3][4]
• Dave Clark, musician (Rheostatics) and poet
• George Elliott Clarke (born 1960), poet and playwright.
• Wayne Clifford (born 1944)
• Fred Cogswell (1917–2004)
• Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist
• Matt Cohen, (1942–1999), writer and poet
• Victor Coleman
• Don Coles (1928–2017), poet, author, and academic
• Stephen Collis, poet and academic
• John Robert Colombo (born 1936), poet, anthologist, editor, essayist, and humorist
• Daria Colonna
• 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), Canadian-born geneticist and poet living in the United States
• Karen Connelly (born 1969), writer and poet
• Kevin Connolly (born 1962), poet, writer, and critic
• Dennis Cooley (born 1944), poet and academic
• Afua Cooper (born 1957), Jamaican-born historian and dub poet
• Judith Copithorne (born 1939), concrete and visual poet
• Paulo da Costa, Canadian-Portuguese author, editor, and translator
• Sonia Cotten (born 1974), poet^[5]
• Maya Cousineau Mollen
• 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 (born 1948), writes under the name Lorna Uher
• Michael Crummey (born 1965), poet and writer
• Julie Crysler, journalist and poet
• Nancy Jo Cullen, poet and short story writer
• Jen Currin, United States-born poet
• Kayla Czaga (born 1989), poet

D

• Cyril Dabydeen (born 1945), native Guyana poet and writer living in Canada
• Kalli Dakos (born 1950), children's poet and teacher
• Michel Dallaire (1957–2017), novelist and poet
• Mary Dalton, poet and academic
• Joseph A. Dandurand, Native American poet, playwright, and archaeologist
• Jean-Paul Daoust (born 1946), poet
• Beverley Daurio (born 1953)
• Frank Davey (born 1940), poet and academic
• Lynn Davies (born 1954), poet
• 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, and artist
• Adriana de Barros (born 1976), Portuguese native who moved to Canada at age 3; illustrator, web designer, and poet
• Sadiqa de Meijer (born 1966)
• 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
• Kris Demeanor, poet, musician and actor
• 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
• Joe Denham, poet and fiction writer
• Adebe DeRango-Adem
• Michelle Desbarats, poet
• Anne-Marie Desmeules, poet
• 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 (1949–2019), Italian-born, Canadian poet and priest
• Mary di Michele (born 1949), Italian-born, Canadian poet, author, and creative-writing teacher
• Adam Dickinson, poet
• Robert Dickson (1944–2007), poet, translator, and academic
• Kildare Dobbs (1923–2013), Indian-born teacher, poet, editor, short-story writer, and travel writer who moved to Canada in 1950
• Jeramy Dodds (born 1974), poet
• Don Domanski (born 1950)
• Magie Dominic (born 1944), poet and artist
• Jeffery Donaldson, poet and critic
• David Donnell (1939–2020), poet and writer
• Candas Dorsey (born 1952), poet and science fiction novelist
• Clive Doucet (born 1946), writer, poet, and politician
• Gordon Downie (1964–2017), songwriter, poet, and musician
• Orville Lloyd Douglas (born 1976), poet and writer
• Stan Dragland (born 1942), novelist, poet and literary critic
• William Henry Drummond (1854–1907), Irish-born Canadian poet
• Louis Dudek (1918–2001), poet, literary critic and publisher
• Marilyn Dumont (born 1955), poet and educator
• Klara du Plessis, poet

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
• David Elliott (1923–1999), poet and academic
• Rebecca Elson (1960–1999), Canadian-American astronomer, academic writer, and poet
• Crispin Elsted
• Karen Enns
• Reuben Epp (1920–2009) teacher, school administrator, writer and poet in Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)
• Michael Estok (1939–1989)

F

• Margaret Fairley (1885–1968), English-born Canadian writer, educator and political activist
• Brian Fawcett (1944–2022), poet, novelist, nonfiction author and writer
• Charles Fenerty (c. 1821–1892), poet, journalist, and inventor. Published two poems in book format in 1855 and 1866, and wrote over 32 poems (mostly published in local newspapers).
• Paola Ferrante
• 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
• Connie Fife
• 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
• Polly Fleck
• 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
• Pauline Fréchette (1889–1943), French Canadian poet, dramatist, journalist, and Catholic nun
• 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

• Rhonda Ganz
• Keith Garebian (born 1943) critic, biographer, and poet; born in Bombay, India, and immigrated to Canada in 1961
• 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
• Chantal Gibson
• Elsa Gidlow
• Angus Morrison Gidney (1803–1882), educator, poet, and journalist
• Gerry Gilbert
• 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
• Spencer Gordon, Toronto-based writer^[6]
• Phyllis Gotlieb (1926–2009), science fiction novelist and poet
• Nora Gould
• Susan Goyette (born 1964), poet and novelist
• Neile Graham (born 1958), poet and academic
• Alain Grandbois (1900–1975), French Canadian poet
• Hannah Green
• Richard Greene
• Leslie Greentree, poet, short-story writer, and freelance writer
• Ralph Gustafson (1909–1995), poet and academic
• Genni Gunn (born 1949), novelist, poet, and translator
• Kristjana Gunnars, Icelandic-Canadian poet and novelist
• Stephen Guppy

H

• Paul Haines (1933–2003), poet and jazz lyricist, born in the United States and later a Canadian resident
• Helen Hajnoczky (born 1985), visual poet
• Phil Hall (born 1953), poet, academic, and publisher of broadsides and chapbooks under the Flat Singles Press imprint since 1976
• Jane Eaton Hamilton (born 1954), short-story writer, poet, and photographer
• Jennica Harper
• Claire Harris (1937–2018)
• Michael Harris
• Richard Harrison
• Paul Hartal (born 1936), painter and poet, born in Hungary
• Jill Hartman (born 1974 in poetry), poet and editor
• Diana Hartog
• 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
• Wilfrid Heighington (1897–1945), soldier, writer, poet, lawyer, and politician
• Steven Heighton (1961–2022), novelist and poet
• David Helwig (1938–2018), poet, novelist, and essayist; father of Maggie Helwig
• Maggie Helwig (born 1961), poet, novelist, peace and human rights activist; daughter of David Helwig
• Anna Minerva Henderson (1887–1987), poet and civil servant
• Brian Henderson (born 1948), poet, academic, and editor
• Jason Heroux (born 1971), third poet laureate of Kingston, Ontario, born in Montreal
• Benjamin Hertwig
• Robert Hilles (born 1951), poet and novelist
• Robert Hogg (1942–2022)
• Susan Holbrook
• Clive Holden
• Norah M. Holland (1876–1925), poet, playwright, journalist, editor
• Nancy Holmes
• Cornelia Hoogland (born 1952), poet and academic
• Hilda Mary Hooke (1898–1978), poet and playwright
• Leah Horlick
• Sean Horlor (born 1981) poet, former speechwriter, freelance writing consultant
• Karen Houle
• Liz Howard
• Harry Howith (1934–2014)
• Ray Hsu, poet and academic
• David Huebert
• Annie Campbell Huestis, (1878-1960) poet
• Helen Humphreys (born 1961), poet and novelist
• Al Hunter poet, author, tribal leader, and activist
• Aislinn Hunter (born 1969), poet and author
• Bruce Hunter (born 1952), teacher, poet, fiction writer, and lifewriter
• 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
• Maureen Hynes (born 1948), poet^[7]

I

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

J

• Suzanne Jacob (born 1943), novelist, poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, and critic
• Edna Jaques (1891-1978), poet
• Jemeni (born 1976), actress, writer and activist
• E. A. Jenns (1860-1930), poet
• 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"
• E. Pauline Johnson, also known as "Tekahionwake" (1861–1913)
• Jim Johnstone
• D. G. Jones (1929–2016), poet, translator, and educator
• El Jones, poet and activist
• Julie Joosten
• Clifton Joseph
• 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
• Donna Kane
• Adeena Karasick, poet and academic
• Rupi Kaur, poet and illustrator
• Lionel Kearns, poet and teacher
• Diane Keating
• Kaie Kellough
• 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 the 1930s
• Robert Kirkland Kernighan (1854–1926), poet, journalist, and farmer
• Roy Kiyooka (1926–1994), photographer, poet, and artist
• Barbara Klar
• 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
• Jules Arita Koostachin
• 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 (1927–2011), novelist, poet, non-fiction writer, and academic
• Aaron Kreuter
• Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 1952), novelist, poet, and academic

L

• Kama La Mackerel
• Sonnet L'Abbé, poet and critic
• Pierre Labrie (born 1972), French Canadian poet
• Edward A. Lacey
• Ben Ladouceur
• Chloé LaDuchesse
• Dany Laferrière (born 1953), Haitian-born francophone novelist, journalist, and poet who moved to Canada in 1976
• Annie Lafleur
• Catherine Lalonde (born 1974), French Canadian poet and journalist^[8]
• Archibald Lampman (1861–1899)
• Tim Lander (born 1938)
• Patrick Lane (1939–2019)
• M. Travis Lane (born 1934), American-born Canadian poet who moved to Canada in 1960
• Rina Lasnier (1915–1997), French Canadian poet and playwright
• Evelyn Lau (born 1971), poet and novelist
• Edythe Morahan de Lauzon
• Irving Layton (1912–2006)
• Georgette LeBlanc
• 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
• Lily Alice Lefevre (1854–1938)
• Sylvia Legris (born 1960)
• John Lent (1948–2006), poet and novelist
• Douglas LePan (1914–1998), diplomat, poet, novelist, and academic
• Alex Leslie
• Lilian Leveridge (1879–1953), poet, short story writer, and non-fiction writer
• Katherine Leyton
• T. Liem
• 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
• Jennifer LoveGrove
• Pat Lowther (1935–1975)
• Laura Lush
• Richard Lush (born 1934)
• Michael Lynch

M

• Rozena Maart (born 1962), poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, academic, and psychotherapist; South African living in Canada
• Annick MacAskill
• Kathy Mac
• 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
• Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald (1864–1922), poet, children's literature, short story writer and essayist
• 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 (13 June 1931 – 21 March 2012), poet and academic (a woman)*
• Keith Maillard (born 28 February 1942), author and poet
• Charles Mair (1838/1840–1927), 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)
• Donato Mancini
• 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
• Blaine Marchand
• Nicole Markotic, poet and novelist
• Daphne Marlatt, née Buckle (born 1942)
• Tom Marshall (1938–1993), Canadian poet and novelist
• Émile Martel
• Garth Martens
• Camille Martin (born 1956), poet and collage artist
• Sid Marty (born 1944), poet, author, and musician
• Robin Mathews (born 1931), poet and professor, known for his political activism in support of Canadian independence from U.S. domination
• Seymour Mayne (born 1944), poet and literary translator
• Micheline Maylor (born 1970), poet and academic
• Chandra Mayor (born 1973), poet and novelist
• Robert McBride (1811/1812–1895), 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
• Julia McCarthy
• Susan McCaslin (born 1947), poet and academic
• Alma Frances McCollum (1879–1906), poet and composer
• Kathleen McCracken
• 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 (1937–ca. 2018), poet and busker (street performer)
• David McFadden (born 11 October 1940), poet, fiction writer, and travel writer
• Robin McGrath
• 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.
• Emily Julian McManus (1865–1918), poet, author, and educator
• Susan McMaster (born 1950), poet literary editor and spoken word performer
• Amber McMillan, poet and writer
• Eugene McNamara (1930–2016), poet, author and teacher
• 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
• Joshua Mensch
• Iman Mersal (born 1966), Egyptian-born Egyptian/Canadian poet and professor of Arabic literature
• Bruce Meyer (born 1957), poet and academic
• Shayne Michael
• Anne Michaels (born 1958), poet and novelist
• Pauline Michel, novelist, poet, playwright, songwriter and screenwriter
• Marianne Micros
• Roy Miki (born 1942), poet and academic
• Phebe Florence Miller (1889–1979), poet and diarist
• Kenneth G. Mills (1923–2004)
• Roswell George Mills
• Gaston Miron (1928–1996), French Canadian poet writer and editor
• Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942), primarily an author, but also a poet from Prince Edward Island
• Marion E. Moodie (1867–1958), nurse, botanist, and poet
• Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), British-born Canadian author and poet
• Jacob McArthur Mooney (born 1983)
• Shani Mootoo
• 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, 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
• Garry Thomas Morse
• Daniel David Moses (born 1952), Native American Canadian poet and playwright
• Erín Moure (born 1955)
• Jane Munro (born 1943)
• Sachiko Murakami
• William Murdoch (1823–1887), Scottish-Canadian poet, writer and gasworks manager who immigrated to Canada in 1854
• George Murray, poet and associate editor at Maisonneuve Magazine, contributing editor at several literary magazines
• Susan Musgrave (born 1951), poet and children's writer

N

• Akhtar Naraghi
• André Narbonne
• Roger Nash (born 1942), English-born philosopher, poet, and academic
• Jim Nason
• 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 (2005–2006), writer, poet, activist, journalist, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba
• Pierre Nepveu (born 1946), French Canadian poet, novelist, and essayist
• W. H. New (born 1938), poet, editor, and literary critic
• bpNichol (1944–1988), born Barrie Phillip Nichol, who often went by his lower-case initials and last name, with no spaces, poet and writer
• Cecily Nicholson
• Emilia Nielsen
• John Newlove (1938–2003)
• Alden Nowlan (1933–1983), poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist

O

• Patrick O'Connell (1944–2005)
• Alexandra Oliver
• Tolu Oloruntoba
• 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
• Gabriel Osson
• Fernand Ouellette (born 1930)
• 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
• Catherine Owen, poet and musician

P

• Susan Paddon
• P. K. Page (1916–2010)
• Corrado Paina (born 1954), Italian poet living in Canada since 1987, editorial director of the quarterly magazine ItalyCanada Trade
• Arleen Paré
• Fawn Parker
• Lisa Pasold
• John Pass (born 1947), English-born Canadian poet and academic who has lived in Canada since 1953; married to poet and novelist Theresa Kishkan
• Philip Kevin Paul
• Amy Parkinson (1855–1938), English-born Canadian poet
• Neil Peart (1952–2020), musician, songwriter, producer, author, and drummer of the Canadian Rock band Rush
• Soraya Peerbaye
• Bradley Peters
• W. T. Pfefferle, poet, writer, and academic
• Anthony Phelps
• 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 (1930–2021), French Canadian poet
• Sarah Pinder
• George Pirie (1799–1870), newspaper publisher and poet
• Alycia Pirmohamed
• Al Pittman (1940–2001), poet and playwright
• Michel Pleau
• Emily Pohl-Weary, novelist, poet, and magazine editor
• Craig Poile
• Laurent Poliquin (born 1975), French Canadian poet and academic
• Sandy Pool
• Joël Pourbaix
• 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
• Marion Quednau
• Joseph Quesnel (1746–1809), French Canadian composer, poet, and playwright
• Sina Queyras, poet and academic

R

• Kenneth Radu
• 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)
• James Reaney (1926–2008), poet, playwright, and literary critic
• Michael Redhill (born 1966), American-born Canadian poet, playwright, and novelist
• Beatrice Redpath (1886–1937), poet and short story writer
• D. C. Reid (born 1952), poet, novelist, and short-story writer
• Jamie Reid (1941–2015)
• Shane Rhodes
• Robin Richardson
• Lisa Richter (born c. 1977), poet, winner of the 2020 (U.S.) National Jewish Book Award for poetry
• Emily Riddle
• Sandra Ridley
• 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
• Matt Robinson (born 1974)
• Shima Aisha Robinson aka Dwennimmen, Edmonton's Poet Laureate^[9]
• 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
• Janet Rogers First Nations poet^[10]
• Linda Rogers (born 1944), poet and children's writer
• Joe Rosenblatt (1933–2019), 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 the 1920s and 1930s, has been called "Canada's first modern poet"
• Annie Rothwell (1837–1927), writer of paeans to colonial forces during the North-West Rebellion and other imperial wars, she was known among contemporary critics mainly as a war poet.
• Nancy-Gay Rotstein
• Stephen Rowe (born 1980)
• André Roy

S

• Lake Sagaris (born 1956), journalist, poet, and translator living in Chile
• Rodney Saint-Éloi
• Denis St-Jules (1950-2024)
• Trish Salah, academic, writer, and poet whose first volume of poetry appeared in 2002
• Rebecca Salazar
• Peter Sanger (born 1943), poet and prose writer, critic, editor, and academic born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1953
• Charles Sangster (1822–1893)
• Robyn Sarah (born 1949)
• 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
• Andreas Schroeder (born 1946), German-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer
• Stephen Scobie (born 1943), poet, critic, and academic
• Gregory Scofield (born 1966)
• Duncan Campbell Scott (1862–1947), poet and writer
• F. R. Scott, also known as Frank Scott (1899–1985), poet, intellectual and constitutional expert
• Jordan Scott
• 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
• Ann Shin
• 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
• Bren Simmers
• Anne Simpson (born 1956), poet and novelist
• jaye simpson
• Bardia Sinaee
• Sue Sinclair
• George Sipos
• 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
• Clara Kathleen Smith (1911–2004), poet and educator^[11]
• Douglas Burnet Smith (born 1949)
• John Smith (born 1927–2018), 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
• Steven Ross Smith (born 1945), poet, arts journalist, Poet Laureate of Banff, previous Director Literary Arts, Banff Centre
• Karen Solie (born 1966)
• 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 (1921–2012), Toronto poet
• Esta Spalding (born 1966), American-born Canadian author, screenwriter, and poet
• Heather Spears (1934–2021), poet, novelist, and artist living in Denmark since 1962
• Birk Sproxton (1943–2007), 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
• Jason Stefanik
• 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 (1905–1994)
• Robert Sward (1933–2022), 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

• Proma Tagore
• 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
• Souvankham Thammavongsa, poet and short story writer
• Sharon Thesen (born 1946), poet and academic
• Serge Patrice Thibodeau (born 1959)
• Kai Cheng Thom
• Edward William Thomson (1849–1924), journalist, writer, and poet
• John Thompson (1938–1976)
• Russell Thornton, poet
• 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
• Michaël Trahan (born 1984), poet
• Kim Trainor, Vancouver poet
• 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 (1930–2017), poet and novelist
• Mark Truscott (born 1970), born in the United States
• Élise Turcotte (born 26 June 1957), French-Canadian writer and poet
• Arielle Twist
• John Tyndall
• Daniel Scott Tysdal (born 1978)

U

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

V

• Léonise Valois (1868–1936), first French Canadian woman to publish a collection of poetry^[12]
• Peter van Toorn (born 1944)
• R. M. Vaughan (1965–2020), poet, novelist, and playwright
• Paul Vermeersch (born 1973)
• Katherena Vermette
• Gilles Vigneault (born 1928), Quebec poet, publisher, and singer-songwriter; Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist
• Pamelia Sarah Vining (1826–1897)
• Garth Von Buchholz (also G.A. Buchholz), British Columbia poet, dark fiction author, playwright, journalist, and arts critic
• Prvoslav Vujčić (born 1960)

W

• Miriam Waddington (née Dworkin 1917–2004), poet, short-story writer, and translator
• Michael Wade (1944–2004)
• 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 (1927–2021), poet and radio broadcaster
• John Weier (born 1949)
• Matthew James Weigel
• 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
• Joshua Whitehead
• Bruce Whiteman (born 1952), poet, writer, scholar, and essayist
• Isabella Whiteford (1835–1905), poet who also write under the name Caed Mille Failtha
• Zoe Whittall (born 1976), poet and novelist
• Anne Wilkinson (1910–1961), poet, writer, and essayist
• Alan R. Wilson
• Anne Elizabeth Wilson (1901–1946) poet, writer, editor
• 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 historian; the founder (in 1959) of the journal Canadian Literature
• Lance Woolaver (born 1948), author, poet, playwright, and director

Y

• Isa Hasan al-Yasiri (1942), Iraqi-Canadian poet
• J. Michael Yates (1938–2019), poet and dramatist
• Leo Yerxa
• Jean Yoon (born 1962), actor, poet, and playwright
• D'bi Young, born in Jamaica, moved to Canada in 1993; dub poet, actor, and playwright
• Ian Young
• Josée Yvon

Z

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

See also

• Poetry portal

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

References

1. New, William H, ed. (2002). "Belley, Marlène". Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. p. 102. ISBN 0-8020-0761-9.
2. New, William H (2002). Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 105. ISBN 0802007619.
3. Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond, edited by Tina Chang, Nathalie Handal, Ravi Shankar (W. W. Norton, 2008), p. 610.
4. Reviewed in Global Chinese Press^[usurped], Toronto, 3 November 2008.
5. "Cotten, Sonia" (in French). Infocentre littéraire des écrivains.
6. "Contributors". Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art (57): 208–215. 22 January 2024. JSTOR 45175437.
7. "Member Profile".
8. "Lalonde, Catherine" (in French). Infocentre littéraire des écrivains.
9. "Poet Laureate". Edmonton Arts Council. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
10. "UNBC welcomes Janet Rogers as Writer in Residence". Talon Books.
11. "Kay Smith". Atlantic Canada Poets' Archive. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014.
12. Warren, Louise (2016). "Valois, Léonise". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XVI (1931–1940) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.