Famous Canadian Poets

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and novelist. Her works encompass themes, such as religion and myth, climate change, and gender and identity. An award-winning writer, many of Atwood's works have been made into films and television series; her work, The Handmaid's Tale, has had several adaptations. Perhaps, Margaret Atwood's most important contribution is her invention of the LongPen device.

Win Butler is an American-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is credited with co-founding the popular Canadian indie rock band, Arcade Fire. Also a humanitarian, Butler contributed to a charity record named Do They Know It's Hallowe'en as part of a UNICEF benefit project. A multi-talented personality, Win Butler often participates in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

Best known for his iconic war poems such as In Flanders Fields, Canadian poet John McCrae was also an army physician. He was the first Canadian to serve as a consulting surgeon for the British Army and had earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army.

Serge Monast was a Québécois investigative journalist, poet, and essayist. He was also known as a conspiracy theorist. He wrote extensively on the theme of the New World Order in the 1990s and was particularly inspired by the works of fellow conspiracy theorist William Guy Carr. Project Blue Beam (NASA) is one of his most popular works. 

Considered one of the most important literary theorists of the century, Herman Northrop Fry gained international fame with his first book, Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake and later with Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Prolific writer and respected educator, he went on to write many more, concurrently championing Canadian literature and identity, receiving several honors for his contributions.

Robert W. Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. Popularly called "the Bard of the Yukon," he wrote some of the most commercially successful poetry of his era. A bank clerk by profession, he often wrote while traveling for work. Besides poetry, he also wrote fiction and non-fiction. He was often compared to English writer and novelist Rudyard Kipling. 

Leonard Cohen was one of the most popular Canadian celebrities of all time. After starting his career as a poet and novelist, Leonard went on to become a famous singer-songwriter, exploring themes like sexuality, religion, depression, and romantic relationships in his work. Leonard Cohen was one of the inspirations for Steven Clark and Matthew Bissonnette's 2002 film Looking for Leonard.

Born to a banker in Toronto, Anne Carson grew up to study Classics and later taught at institutes such as Princeton University. Her signature style consists of a mix of prose and poetry. One of her notable works, Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse, was inspired by Greek mythology.

Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, writer, and filmmaker. Born in Sri Lanka, he eventually migrated to Canada. He studied at Bishop's University and embarked on a teaching career. His literary works include poems, novels, and essays. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the Giller Prize and the Booker Prize. 

Rupi Kaur is an Indian-born Canadian poet, photographer, illustrator, and author. Born in India, she moved to Canada at an early age. She began performing in 2009 and gained international fame through her Instagram posts. She often explores her South Asian identity and femininity in her work. Her latest poetry collection, Home Body, released in 2020, was a resounding success. 

Shane Koyczan is a Canadian spoken word poet and writer. He is a member of the group, Tons of Fun University, and often writes on topics like bullying, eating disorders, and death. He won the individual championship title at the beach National Poetry Slam in 2000, becoming the first Canadian to do so. He identifies himself as an 'okay atheist.' 

English-Canadian writer Susanna Moodie is best known for her realistic depictions of her life in “the bush” or the wilderness of Canada, which was a British colony back in her time. Her most popular work remains Roughing it in the Bush. She had initially also penned several children’s stories.

Charles de Lint is a Canadian writer who primarily writes fantasy fiction in the subgenres of urban fantasy,  mythic fiction, and contemporary magical realism. He is considered one of the pioneers of the genre of urban fantasy. His most popular works include Widdershins and The Blue Girl. He is married to  MaryAnn Harris, who is also his business manager. 

Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, and poet. As a young man, he opposed British rule in Ireland and was in favor of creating an independent Irish Republic. He later became conservative in his beliefs and moved to Canada. He helped create the Canadian Confederation in 1867 but was assassinated the following year.  

Lisa Robertson is a Canadian poet, freelance writer, and teacher. She studied at Simon Fraser University and once ran an independent bookstore. She explores different literary forms in her work. Her book of poetry, Debbie: An Epic (1997), was nominated for a Governor General’s Award. She has taught at the California College of Art and the University of Cambridge.

Duncan Campbell Scott was a Canadian writer, poet, and civil servant. He is regarded as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. As a civil servant, he served as deputy superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs. In this position, he supported the implementation of racist policies toward Canada's First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.  

Félix Leclerc was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter and writer. Growing up during the Great Depression, he held a series of odd jobs before becoming a radio announcer in Québec City and Trois-Rivières. With time, he built a successful career as a singer and writer. In 1986, he was made a Chevalier of the French Légion d'honneur. 

George Woodcock was a Canadian writer, philosopher, literary critic, essayist, and thinker. As the founding editor of Canadian Literature, the first academic journal dedicated to Canadian writing, Woodcock played a major role in the success of the journal. The recipient of many awards like the Molson Prize, Woodcock's life and career inspired the documentary, George Woodcock: Anarchist of Cherry Street.

Alden Nowlan was a Canadian novelist, poet, and playwright. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most popular Canadian poets, Nowlan served as the University of New Brunswick's writer-in-residence in Fredericton. He was also the recipient of several prestigious awards, such as the Governor General's Award, which he won for his collection Bread, Wine and Salt.

Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet whose works earned him international recognition. His poem, Autumn ,inspired Leo Sowerby to write Comes Autumn Time, which became his best-known organ piece. Throughout his illustrious career, Carman was honored with many prestigious awards like the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Gold Medal. During his later years, Carman served as Canada's poet laureate.

E. J. Pratt was a Canadian poet who won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top poetry prize, on three occasions. Regarded as the most important Canadian poet of his generation, Pratt is also considered the leading Canadian poet of the first half of the 20th century. During his career, he also won other prestigious awards like the Canada Council Medal.

Marie-Claire Blais is a French Canadian writer, poet, and playwright. Born into a blue-collar family, she was unable to pursue full-time education. However, she did attend a few classes at Université Laval and began her literary career at the age of 20. She eventually became a successful author with numerous novels, plays, and poetry collections to her name. 

Anne Michaels is a Canadian novelist and poet whose works have been published in over 45 countries. Her novels, such as Fugitive Pieces, have also been adapted into films. Michaels, who served as the poet laureate of Toronto from 2016 to 2019, has received several awards like the Orange Prize, the Lannan Award for Fiction, and the Guardian Fiction Prize.

Anne Hébert was a French Canadian poet and author who won the Governor General's Award, which is regarded as Canada's top literary honor, on three occasions. During her career, she also won other prestigious awards like the Molson Prize and the Ludger-Duvernay Prize. Hébert's works have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, English, and German.

Susan Musgrave is a Canadian poet and writer of children’s literature. She started writing as a child and published her first work when she was 16. She has authored several collections of poems, fiction, and children’s literature. Besides writing, she teaches creative writing at the University of British Columbia. She was married to  Stephen Reid, a writer and convicted criminal. 

Robert Stanley Weir was a Canadian judge and poet. He is best known for writing the English lyrics to the national anthem of Canada, O Canada. He was trained as a teacher and lawyer. Over the course of his successful legal career, he was appointed a municipal court judge. He published several poems in magazines and book collections. 

Archibald Lampman was a 19th-century Canadian poet considered to be the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets. He is often referred to as the “Canadian Keats” and classified as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. He was a quiet and dignified person with high ideals. He passed away at the age of just 37. 

Earle Birney was a Canadian novelist and poet. He is best remembered for winning the prestigious Governor General's Award on two occasions. In 1953, he was also honored with the Lorne Pierce Medal for his immense contribution to Canadian literature and poetry.

Annie Louisa Walker was an English and Canadian teacher and author. Born in England, she moved to Canada as a young girl. She ran a school with her sisters and also embarked on a literary career. With the help of her second cousin, prominent writer Margaret Oliphant, she was able to build a successful career as a novelist. 

Charles Fenerty was a 19th-century Canadian inventor and poet. He is best remembered for inventing the wood pulp process for paper-making. His invention did not receive much attention in his lifetime and he never took out a patent on it. He was well known as a poet and published numerous poems. He was an extensive traveler as well. 

A renowned French-Canadian essayist and poet, Gaston Miron was known for his numerous interpretive works, the most celebrated collection of his poems being L’Homme rapaillé. Also the editor of Quebec's Quiet Revolution, he was committed to the establishment of an independent French-speaking country in North America and is hailed as the most important literary figure of Quebec's nationalist movement.

American poet, biographer and critic, John Malcolm Brinnin published his first collection of poems in the same year he graduated from the University of Harvard , thereafter, continuing to publish five more volumes of poems, biographies and travelogues. However, he is better known as the man who brought Dylan Thomas to America, guiding him on his speaking tour throughout USA.  

James Reaney was a Canadian poet, playwright, and professor. He developed an early love for literature and theater and studied English at University College, University of Toronto. He pursued an academic career while also focusing on his writing. He was the recipient of Canada's highest literary award, the Governor General's Award, thrice. He also enjoyed drawing and painting. 

A.M. Klein was a Canadian lawyer turned poet, journalist, novelist, and short-story writer. He studied law at the Université de Montréal and embarked on a legal career. He eventually turned his focus to writing and published several pieces of fiction and numerous volumes of poetry. He was honored with the Governor General's Award in poetry. 

Louis Dudek was a Canadian poet, publisher, and academic who played a major role in defining Modernism in poetry. Dudek is also remembered for his literary criticism. He also played a key role as a theoretician and teacher, influencing the way Canadian poetry is taught in most Canadian universities and schools.

A versatile writer and poet, William Wilfred Campbell began writing poems while in college, continuing to do so while serving as Episcopal priest, publishing his first two books of poems during this period. Later, he gave up his post due to a crisis of faith and continued with his writing, regularly publishing volumes of verses, verse dramas, fictions and non-fictions.

Matt Cohen was a Canadian writer whose novel, Elizabeth and After, earned him the Governor General's Award under the English-language Fiction category in 1999. Cohen is credited with co-founding the Writers' Union of Canada, where he served as the president in 1986. Under his presidency, the union was able to persuade the government to establish a Public Lending Right program.

Dorothy Livesay was a Canadian poet whose works earned her the prestigious Governor General's Award on two occasions. During the 1970s and 1980s, she was referred to as the senior woman writer in Canada, an honorable status in Canada. During her career, Livesay won several awards, including the Lorne Pierce Medal, the Queen's Canada Medal, and the Persons Case Award.

A.J.M. Smith was a Canadian anthologist and poet. Smith was an important member of a group called the Montreal Group, which played a key role in popularizing modernism at a time when Victorianism was prevalent. In 1943, he won the prestigious Governor General's Award under the English-language poetry or drama category. In 1966, he won the Lorne Pierce Medal.