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.

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
• 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),
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

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