List of Canadian poets
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" articles.
A
- Mark Abley (born 1955), Canadian poet, journalist, editor and non-fiction writer.
- Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright
- José Acquelin
- Gil Adamson, Female novelist, poet, short-story writer
- Marie-Célie Agnant (born 1953), Haitian native living in Canada since 1970; novelist, poet and writer of children's books
- Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (born 1965), Native American writer and poet, founder (in 1993) of Kegedonce Press, specializing in indigenous writers
- Donald Alarie (born 1945), writer, poet and teacher
- Edna Alford, editor, author and poet who co-founded the magazine Dandelion
- Sandra Alland (born 1973), Scottish-Canadian writer, multimedia artist, bookseller, small press publisher and activist
- Donna Allard, editor and poet
- Lillian Allen (born 1951), dub poet
- Anne-Marie Alonzo (1951–2005), playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher, born in Egypt and moved to Canada at the age of 12
- George Amabile (born 1936)
- Marguerite Andersen (born 1924), German-born, primarily francophone writer, academic and editor
- Patrick Anderson (1915–1979), English-born Canadian poet and academic
- Rod Anderson (1935), poet, musician and accountant
- Michael Andre (born 1946), poet, critic and editor living in the United States
- Jeannette Armstrong (born 1948), Native American author, educator, artist, and activist
- David Arnason (born 1940), author and poet
- Joanne Arnott (born 1960), Métis poet, essayist, activist writer
- Margaret Atwood (born 1939), poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist and activist
- Margaret Avison (born 1918–2007)
B
- Lisa B, political spoken word poet who has published chapbooks
- Ken Babstock
- Elizabeth Bachinsky
- Alfred Bailey (1905–1997) poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator
- Jacob Bailey (1731–1808), a Church of England clergyman and poet born in the United States (colony of New Hampshire), immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1779
- Chris Banks (born 1970)
- Kaushalya Bannerji, native of India
- Frances Bannerman
- John Barton (born 1957)
- Gary Barwin, author, composer, children's writer and poet
- Jalal Barzanji (born 1953), Kurdish poet and writer living in Canada since 1998
- Shaunt Basmajian (1950–1990), poet and author
- Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo (born 1967)), Ivoirian born Canadian poet and journalist
- Bill Bauer American-born, living in Canada since 1965, husband of Nancy Bauer
- Nancy Bauer(born 1934), American-born, living in Canada since 1965, wife of Bill Bauer
- Doug Beardsley (born 1941), poet and academic
- Nérée Beauchemin (1850–1931) francophone poet and physician (a man)
- Derek Beaulieu (born 1973) poet, publisher and anthologist.
- Joseph-Isidore Bédard (1806–1833), poet, lawyer and politician
- Ven Begamudré, Indian-born poet, short-story writer, novelist and academic
- Henry Beissel (born 1929), poet, author, writer and editor
- Ken Belford (born 1946)
- Marlène Belley (born 1963)[1]
- John Bemrose, arts journalist, novelist, poet and playwright
- Robbie Benoit (died 2007), poet and writer
- Jovette Bernier (1900–1981), Quebec poet, novelist and journalist[2]
- Navtej Bharati, India native and Canadian resident who has published books, including books of poetry, in Punjabi and English; publisher of Third Eye Press
- Jean-Philippe Bergeron, francophone writer and poet
- Craven Langstroth Betts, author and poet
- Navtej Bharati, Punjabi-language poet living in Canada
- Robert Billings (1949–1986), poet and editor
- Earle Birney (1904–1995)
- bill bissett (born 1939)
- Mark Blagrave (born 1956), writer, short-story writer, playwright, poet and academic
- Robin Blaser (born 1925), author and poet (a man)
- Laurie Block (born 1949), a man
- E. D. Blodgett (born 1935), poet, literary critic, and translator
- Robert Boates (born 1954)
- Christian Bök, born "Christian Book" (born 1966), poet and author
- Stephanie Bolster (born 1969), poet and academic
- Roo Borson pen name of Ruth Elizabeth Borson (born 1952), American native living in Canada
- Hédi Bouraoui (born 1932), Tunisian-born Canadian poet, novelist and academic
- Arthur Bourinot (1893–1969), poet and lawyer
- George Bowering(born 1935), novelist, poet, historian, and biographer
- Marilyn Bowering (1949), poet, novelist and playwright
- Tim Bowling (born 1964), poet and novelist
- Alex Boyd, poet, fiction writer, critic, essayist and editor
- Kate Braid, poet and teacher
- Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite (1963–2008), novelist, spoken word artist, dub poet, essayist, digital drummer and short-story writer
- Shannon Bramer (born 1973), poet and teacher
- Dionne Brand (born 1953), poet, novelist, and non-fiction writer born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Canada
- Di Brandt née "Diana Ruth Janzen" (born 1952), poet and literary critic
- Jacques Brault (born 1933), French Canadian poet and translator
- Diana Brebner (1956–2001)
- Brian Brett (born 1950), poet and novelist
- Elizabeth Brewster (born 1922), poet and academic
- Robert Bringhurst (born 1946), poet, typographer and author
- David Bromige (born 1933), Canadian poet living in the United States since 1962
- Nicole Brossard (born 1943), francophone poet and novelist
- Audrey Alexandra Brown (1904–1998)
- Ronnie R. Brown (born 1946), American native living in Canada for most of her adult life
- Julie Bruck
- Robert Budde (born 1966), poet, novelist and academic
- Suzanne Buffam
- April Bulmer (born 1963)
- Murdoch Burnett (born 1953), Canadian poet, performance artist, editor, and community activist
- Mick Burrs
- Aaron Bushkowsky
C
- Charmaine Cadeau
- Stephen Cain (born 1970), poet and academic
- Alison Calder, poet and academic
- Frank Oliver Call
- Barry Callaghan (born 1937), author and poet; 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 (24 Sept. 1854 – 17 Sept. 1885), poet, lawyer, and journalist
- Wilfred Campbell (1858–1918), poet and Anglican clergyman
- Natalee Caple (born 1970), novelist and poet
- Paul Cargnello(born 1979), Montreal poet, lyricist
- Bliss Carman (1861–1929), poet and critic
- Anne Carson (born 1950), poet, essayist, translator, and academic
- Kate Cayley
- 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)
- Dave Clark, musician who published a book of poetry
- George Elliott Clarke (born 1960), poet and playwright.
- Wayne Clifford (born 1944)
- Fred Cogswell (1917–2004)
- Leonard Cohen (1934), singer-songwriter, musician, published poet and novelist
- Matt Cohen, (1942–1999), writer and poet
- Don Coles (born 1928), poet, author and academic
- John Robert Colombo (born 1936), poet, anthologist, editor, essayist, and humorist
- Anne Compton (born 1947), poet, critic, and anthologist
- Wayde Compton (born 1972), poet, writer, turntable-based "sound poetry" performer, academic who co-founded Commodore Books, the first black-oriented press in Western Canada
- Jan Conn (born 1952), geneticist and poet living in the United States
- Karen Connelly (born 1969), writer and poet
- Kevin Connolly
- Dennis Cooley (born 1944), poet and academic
- Afua Cooper, Jamaican-born historian and dub poet
- Paulo da Costa Canadian-Portuguese author, editor and translator
- Dani Couture (born 1978), poet, essayist, critic and journalist
- Thomas Cowherd (1817–1907), tinsmith and poet
- Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–1887), poet, novelist and short-story writer
- Octave Crémazie(1827–1879), francophone poet who has been called "the father of French-Canadian poetry" for his patriotic verse
- Lynn Crosbie (born 1963), poet and novelist
- Lorna Crozier began writing under the name "Lorna Uher" (born 1948)
- Michael Crummey (born 1965), poet and writer.
- Julie Crysler, journalist and poet
- Nancy Jo Cullen
- Jen Currin
- Kayla Czaga
D
- Cyril Dabydeen (born 1945), native Guyana poet and writer living in Canada
- Kalli Dakos (born 1950), children's poet and teacher
- Mary Dalton, poet and academic
- Joseph A. Dandurand, Native American poet, playwright, and archaeologist
- Jean-Paul Daoust
- Beverley Daurio (born 1953)
- Frank Davey (born 1940), poet and academic
- Nicholas Flood Davin (1840–1901), lawyer, journalist, politician and poet
- Tanya Davis, spoken word poet and musician
- Tom Dawe (born 1940), writer, poet, children's book author, artist
- Adriana de Barros (born 1976), Portuguese native who moved to Canada at age 3; illustrator, web designer and poet
- Sadiqa de Meijer
- 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
- Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, performance art duo who have collaborated on performances, films, videos, publications and public art projects since 1989
- Barry Dempster (born 1952), poet and novelist
- Michelle Desbarats
- Christopher Dewdney (born 1951), poet, writer, artist, creative writing teacher and writer in residence at various universities
- Ann Diamond (born 1951), an award-winning Montreal poet, novelist and short-story writer
- Pier Giorgio Di Cicco (born 1949), Italian-born, Canadian poet and priest
- Mary di Michele (born 1949), Italian-born, Canadian poet, author and creative writing teacher
- Robert Dickson (1944–2007), poet, translator and academic.
- Kildare Dobbs (born 1923), Indian-born teacher, poet, editor, short-story writer and travel writer who moved to Canada in 1950
- Jeramy Dodds
- Don Domanski (born 1950)
- Magie Dominic (born 1944), poet and artist
- Jeffery Donaldson, poet and critic
- David Donnell (born 1939), poet and writer
- Candas Dorsey (born 1952), poet and science fiction novelist
- Clive Doucet (born 1946), writer poet, and politician
- Gordon Downie (born 1964), song writer, poet and musician
- Orville Lloyd Douglas (born 1976), poet and writer
- William Henry Drummond (1854–1907) Irish-born Canadian poet
- Louis Dudek (1918–2001) poet, literary critic and publisher
- Marilyn Dumont (born 1955)
E
- Evelyn Eaton (1902–1983), novelist, short-story writer, poet and academic
- Vic Elias (1948–2006), American-born, living in Canada from 1979, poet and academic
- Ronda Eller
- David Elliott (1923–1999), poet and academic
- Rebecca Elson (1960–1999), Canadian-American astronomer, academic writer and poet
- Reuben Epp (born 1920) teacher, school administrator, writer and poet in Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)
- Michael Estok (1939-1989)
F
- Chris Faiers (born 1948), librarian, poet and publisher of Unfinished Monument Press, which he founded in 1978
- Margaret Fairley (1885–1968), English-born Canadian writer, educator and political activist
- Brian Fawcett (born 1944), poet, novelist, nonfiction author and writer
- Charles Fenerty (c. 1821 – 1982), Canadian poet, journalist, and inventor. Published two poems in book format in 1855 and 1866, and wrote over 32 poems (mostly published in local newspapers).
- Ferron, born Debby Foisy (1952), folk singer, songwriter and poet
- George Fetherling, wrote as "Doug Feathering" or "Douglas Fetherling" until 1999 when he began using his middle name (born 1949), American-born poet, novelist, journalist and essayist who moved to Canada at age 18 and became a Canadian citizen
- 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
- Robert Ford (1915–1998), poet, translator and diplomat
- Raymond Fraser (born 1941), novelist, poet, biographer, essayist and editor
- Louis-Honoré Fréchette (1839–1908), French Canadian poet, politician, playwright and short-story writer
- Patrick Friesen (born 1946), poet and university-level creative writing teacher
- Mark Frutkin (born 1948), American-born novelist and poet who moved to Canada in 1970 as a Vietnam War draft resister
G
- Radovan Gajić (born 1953)
- 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
- 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
- Phyllis Gotlieb (born 1926), science fiction novelist and poet
- Sue Goyette (born 1964), poet and novelist
- Neile Graham (born 1958), poet and academic
- Alain Grandbois (1900–1975), French Canadian poet
- Richard Greene
- Leslie Greentree, poet, short-story writer and freelance writer
- Andreas Gripp (born 1964)
- Ralph Gustafson (1909–1995), poet and academic
- Genni Gunn (born 1949), novelist, poet, and translator
- Gregory Wm. Gunn
- Kristjana Gunnars, Icelandic-Canadian poet and novelist
H
- Paul Haines (1933–2003), poet and jazz lyricist, born in the United States and later a Canadian resident
- Helen Hajnoczky (born 1985), visual poet
- Phil Hall (born 1953), poet, academic and publisher of broadsides and chapboooks under the Flat Singles Press imprint since 1976
- Jane Eaton Hamilton (born 1954), short-story writer, poet and photographer
- Claire Harris (born 1937)
- Michael Harris
- Richard Harrison
- Paul Hartal (born 1936), painter and poet, born 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
- Allison Hedge Coke 1958), poet, writer, artist, activist and academic
- Wilfrid Heighington (1897–1945), soldier, writer, poet lawyer and politician
- Steven Heighton (born 1961), novelist and poet
- David Helwig (born 1938), poet, novelist and essayist; father of Maggie Helwig
- Maggie Helwig (born 1961), poet, novelist, peace and human rights activist; daughter of David Helwig
- Brian Henderson (born 1948), poet, academic and editor
- Robert Hilles (born 1951), poet and novelist
- Clive Holden
- Nancy Holmes
- Emily Holton
- Cornelia Hoogland (born 1952), poet and academic
- Sean Horlor (born 1981) poet, former speechwriter, freelance writing consultant
- Harry Howith (born 1934)
- Ray Hsu, poet and academic
- Helen Humphreys (born 1961), poet and novelist
- Al Hunter poet, author, tribal leader, activist
- Aislinn Hunter (born 1969), poet and author
- Bruce Hunter (born 1952), teacher, poet and fiction writer
- Catherine Hunter (born 1957), poet, novelist, editor, academic and critic
- Chris Hutchinson (born 1972)
- Douglas Smith Huyghue (1816–1891), Canadian and Australian poet, fiction writer, essayist, and artist
I
- Susan Ioannou (born 1944)
- Frances Itani (born 1942), novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist
J
- Suzanne Jacob (born 1943), novelist, poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, and critic
- Jemeni
- Paulette Jiles (born 1943), American-born poet and novelist who moved to Canada in 1969
- Rita Joe (1932–2007), Mi'kmaq-Canadian poet and songwriter, called the "poet laureate of the Mi'kmaq people"
- Reg Johanson (born 1968), composition and literature instructor, poet and essayist
- E. Pauline Johnson, also known as "Tekahionwake" (1861–1913)
- D. G. Jones (born 1929), poet, translator and educator
- Julie Joosten
- Eve Joseph (born 1953), poet and author
K
- Surjeet Kalsey, poet, dramatist, short story writer and translator who writes in both Punjabi and English
- Smaro Kamboureli, poet and academic
- Lionel Kearns (born 1937), poet and teacher
- M. T. Kelly (born 1946), novelist, poet and playwright.
- Penn Kemp, novelist, playwright, poet and sound poet
- Leo Kennedy (1907–2000), modernist poet, published in 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
- Maka Kotto (born 1961), Cameroon-born francophone Canadian, provincial level politician, former Canadian House of Commons member who published a book of poetry in 2002
- Shane Koyczan (born 1976), spoken word poet
- Robert Kroetsch (born 1927)), novelist, poet, non-fiction writer and academic
- Janice Kulyk Keefer (born 1952), novelist, poet and academic
L
- Sonnet L'Abbé, poet and critic
- Pierre Labrie (born 1972), French Canadian poet
- Edward A. Lacey
- Dany Laferrière (born 1953), Haitian-born francophone novelist, journalist and poet who moved to Canada in 1976
- Catherine Lalonde (born 1974), French Canadian poet and journalist[3]
- Archibald Lampman (1861–1899)
- Tim Lander (born 1938)
- Patrick Lane (born 1939)
- M. Travis Lane (born 1934), American-born Canadian poet who moved to Canada in 1960
- Rina Lasnier (1915–1997), French Canaadian poet and playwright
- Evelyn Lau (born 1971), poet and novelist
- Edythe Morahan de Lauzon
- Irving Layton (1912–2006)
- Gérald Leblanc(1947–2005), French Canadian poet, playwright, novelist, essayist and writer
- Félix Leclerc (1914–1988), songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, actor, radio announcer, radio scriptwriter and writer
- Dennis Lee (born 1939), poet, writer and children's fiction author
- John B. Lee (born 1951), author, poet and academic
- Sylvia Legris (born 1960)
- John Lent (1948–2006), poet and novelist
- Douglas LePan (1914–1998), diplomat, poet, novelist and academic
- Alex Leslie
- Tim Lilburn (born 1950), poet and essayist
- Charles Lillard (born 1944–1997), poet and historian
- Dorothy Livesay (1909–1996)
- Billie Livingston (born 1965), novelist and poet
- Douglas Lochhead (1922–2011), poet, librarian, and academic
- Pat Lowther (1935–1975)
- Richard Lush (b. 1934)
M
- Rozena Maart (born 1962), poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, academic and psychotherapist; South African living in Canada
- Karen Mac Cormack (born 1956), experimental poet born in Zambia, who holds dual British/Canadian citizenship, she has moved from Toronto to Buffalo, New York, with her husband, poet Steve McCaffery
- Hugh MacDonald (born 1945), poet, children's writer and editor
- Wilson MacDonald (1880–1967)
- Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941–1987), novelist and poet
- Walter Scott MacFarlane (1896–1979), poet and soldier
- Tom MacInnes (1867–1951), poet and writer
- Andrea MacPherson, poet and novelist
- Jay Macpherson (born 13 June 1931), poet and academic (a woman)*
- Keith Maillard (born 28 February 1942), author and poet
- Charles Mair (1838 or 1840–1927), poet and political activist
- Robert Majzels (born 1950), novelist, poet, playwright and translator
- Alice Major, contemporary poet
- Kim Maltman (born 1951), poet and physicist (a man)
- Eli Mandel (1922–1992), poet, essayist and academic
- Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born 1953 Jamaican-born dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director; Jamaican native living in Canada
- David Manicom (born 1960), diplomat, poet and novelist
- Lee Maracle (born 1950), Native American poet and author
- 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), Canadian poet and collage artist
- Robin Mathews (born 1931), Canadian 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
- Chandra Mayor (born 1973), poet and novelist
- Robert McBride (1811 or 1812–1895), Irish-born Canadian poet
- Steven McCabe, contemporary artist and poet
- Steve McCaffery (born 1947), poet and academic born in England and moved to Toronto in 1968; husband of poet Karen MacCormack
- Susan McCaslin (born 1947), poet and academic
- John McCrae (1872–1918), poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the battle of Ypres; best known for writing the famous war memorial poem In Flanders Fields.
- Roy McDonald (born 1937), is a poet and busker (street performer)
- David McFadden (born 11 October 1940), poet, fiction writer, and travel writer
- Wendy McGrath, poet and novelist
- David McGimpsey, poet, humorist and academic
- Nadine McInnis (born 1956), poet, short-story writer and essayist
- James McIntyre (1828–1906), called "The Cheese Poet"
- Don McKay (born 1942), poet, editor, and educator
- Barry McKinnon (born 1944)
- Brendan McLeod (born 1979), poet, novelist, member of The Fugitives.
- Susan McMaster (born 1950), poet, literary editor, and spoken word performer
- Steve McOrmond (born 1957), poet and academic
- Mary Melfi (born 1951), Italian-born poet, novelist and playwright who immigrated to Canada as a young child
- Iman Mersal (born 1966), Egyptian-born Egyptian/Canadian poet and professor of Arabic literature
- Bruce Meyer (born 1957), poet and academic
- Pauline Michel novelist, poet, playwright, songwriter and screenwriter
- Anne Michaels (born 1958), poet and novelist
- Roy Miki (born 1942), poet and academic
- Kenneth G. Mills (1923–2004)
- 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 PEI.
- Marion E. Moodie (1867–1958), nurse, botanist and poet
- Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), British-born Canadian author and poet
- Jacob McArthur Mooney (born 1983)
- Pamela Mordecai (born 1942), Jamaican writer, teacher, scholar and poet living in Canada since 1994
- Pierre Morency (born 1942), French Canadian writer, poet and playwright
- Dwayne Morgan spoken word artist, motivational speaker, event organizer and poet
- Jeffrey Morgan (born 19??), Primarily a writer, but with poetry published in Rolling Stone and Bakka Magazine.
- Kim Morrissey (born 1955), poet and playwright
- Colin Morton (born 1948)
- A. F. Moritz (born 1947), poet and academic
- Daniel David Moses (born 1952), Native American Canadian poet and playwright
- Erin Mouré (born 1955)
- William Murdoch (1823–1887), Scottish-Canadian poet, writer and gasworks manager who immigrated to Canada in 1854
- George Murray, poet and an associate editor at Maisonneuve Magazine, contributing editor at several literary magazines
- Susan Musgrave (born 1951), poet and children's writer
- Jane Musoke-Nteyafas (born c. 1976), poet, writer, visual artist, columnist and playwright
N
- Akhtar Naraghi
- Roger Nash (born 1942), English-born philosopher, poet and academic
- Lyle Neff (born 1969), poet, journalist, essayist and literary critic
- Lorri Neilsen Glenn, poet, ethnographer, essayist and academic
- Émile Nelligan (1879–1941), francophone poet from Quebec
- Holly Nelson, writer, poet, activist, journalist, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba (2005–2006)
- Pierre Nepveu (born 1946), French Canadian poet, novelist and essayist
- W. H. New (born 1938), poet, editor and literary critic
- bpNichol Barrie Phillip Nichol, who often went by his lower-case initials and last name, with no spaces (1944–1988), poet and writer
- John Newlove (1938–2003)
- Alden Nowlan (1933–1983), poet, novelist, playwright and journalist
O
- Patrick O'Connell (1944–2005)
- Alexandra Oliver
- 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
- Fernand Ouellette (b. 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
- P. K. Page (born 1916-2010)
- Corrado Paina (born 1954), Italian poet living in Canada since 1987, editorial director of the quarterly magazine ItalyCanada Trade
- Arleen Paré
- 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
- Neil Peart (born 1952), musician, songwriter, producer, author, drummer of the Canadian Rock band Rush
- Sasenarine Persaud Guyana-born, Canadian essayist, novelist, short story writer, and poet
- W. T. Pfefferle, poet, writer and academic
- M. NourbeSe Philip (born 1947), poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and short story writer
- Ben Phillips (born 1947), poet, teacher and publisher
- Alison Pick, poet and novelist
- Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (born 1975), American-born poet, spoken-word poet, writer, educator and social activist living in Canada
- Jean-Guy Pilon (born 1930), French Canadian poet
- George Pirie (1799);1870), newspaper publisher and poet
- Al Pittman (1940–2001), poet and playwright
- Ted Plantos (1943–2001), poet, writer, editor
- Michel Pleau
- Emily Pohl-Weary, novelist, poet and magazine editor
- Craig Poile
- 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
- 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)
- Wayne Ray, co-founder of the Canadian Poetry Association, publisher in London, Ontario
- James Reaney (1926–2008), poet, playwright, and literary critic
- Michael Redhill (born 1966), American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist
- D. C. Reid (born 1952), poet, novelist and short story writer
- Jamie Reid (born 1941)
- Tracy Repchuk (born 1965), writer, poet and editor; president and founder of the Canadian Federation of Poets; editor of Poetry Canada magazine
- Shane Rhodes
- Charles G.D. Roberts (1860–1943), poet and prose writer; called the "Father of Canadian Poetry" for his influence on other poets
- Lisa Robertson (born 1961), poet, essayist and writer
- Ajmer Rode, poet, playwright and writer in Punjabi and English
- Gordon Rodgers (born 1952), poet, novelist and clinical psychologist
- Carmen Rodríguez (born 1948), Chilean-Canadian author, poet, educator, political social activist, co-founder of Aquelarre Magazine; exiled from Chile after the 1973 coup; writes in both Spanish and English and translates her own work
- Linda Rogers (born 1944), poet and children's writer
- Joe Rosenblatt (born 1933), Governor General's Award-winning experimentalist.
- Laisha Rosnau (born 1972), novelist and poet
- Bruce Ross, poet, author, academic and past president of the Haiku Society of America
- Stuart Ross (born 1959), writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor
- W.W.E. Ross (born 1894), imagist poet of the 1920s and 1930s, has been called "Canada's first modern poet."
- Nancy-Gay Rotstein
- Stephen Rowe (born 1980)
- André Roy
S
- Lake Sagaris (born 1956), journalist, poet and translator living in Chile
- Trish Salah, academic, writer and poet whose first volume of poetry appeared in 2002
- Peter Sanger (born 1943), poet and prose writer, critic, editor and academic born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1953
- Charles Sangster (1822–1893)
- Robyn Sarah (b. 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
- Matthew Schreuder (born 1971), writer and poet living in Australia
- Andreas Schroeder (born 1946), German-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer
- Stephen Scobie (born 1943), poet, critic, and academic
- Gregory Scofield
- Duncan Campbell Scott (1862–1947), poet and writer
- F. R. Scott, also known as Frank Scott (1899–1985), poet, intellectual and constitutional expert
- Peter Dale Scott (born 1929), poet and academic
- Olive Senior (born 1941), Jamaican poet and short story writer living in Canada
- Robert W. Service (1874–1958), poet and writer
- Kathy Shaidle (born 1964), author, columnist and poet
- Francis Sherman (1871–1926)
- Joseph Sherman (1945–2006), poet and visual arts editor
- Carol Shields (1935–2003), American-born Canadian novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright and writer
- Trish Shields, poet and novelist
- Sandy Shreve, poet, newspaper reporter and office worker
- Goran Simic (born 1952), Bosnian-born poet, playwright and short-story writer living in Canada since 1995
- Melanie Siebert
- Bren Simmers
- Anne Simpson (born 1956), poet and novelist
- 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[4]
- Douglas Burnet Smith (born 1949)
- John Smith (born 1927), poet and academic
- Michael V. Smith novelist, poet and filmmaker
- Ron Smith (born 1943), poet, author, editor, playwright, and former academic; founder and co-publisher of Oolichan Books in 1984; influential in the founding of Theytus Books in 1971
- Karen Solie (born 1966)
- David Solway (born 1941), poet, educational theorist, travel writer and literary critic
- Madeline Sonik (born 1960), novelist, short-story writer, children's-book author, editor and poet
- Carolyn Marie Souaid (born 1959), poet and editor, living in Montreal, co-founder of Poetry Quebec magazine
- Raymond Souster(born 1921), poet and (now retired) bank executive
- Esta Spalding (born 1966), American-born Canadian author, screenwriter and poet
- Heather Spears (born 1934), poet, novelist, and artist living in Denmark since 1962
- Birk Sproxton (1943–2007), poet and novelist
- Harold Standish (1919–1972), poet and novelist
- George Stanley, American-born poet and academic associated with the San Francisco Renaissance in his early years, moved to Canada in the 1970s; associated with New Star Books and the Capilano Review
- Carmine Starnino, essayist, educator, and editor
- John Steffler (born 1947), poet and novelist
- Ian Stephens (died 1996), journalist, musician and poet associated with the spoken word movement
- Ricardo Sternberg (born 1948), poet born in Brazil, educated in the United States
- Richard Stevenson
- Shannon Stewart
- W. Gregory Stewart (born 1950), poet, science fiction author, short-story writer who works at a public utility and lives in Los Angeles, California
- John Stiles, poet living in London, United Kingdom
- Anne Stone, poet, writer and performance artist
- Betsy Struthers (born 1951), poet and novelist
- Andrew Suknaski (1942–2012), Saskatchewan poet
- Alan Sullivan (1868–1947), poet, short-story writer, railroad surveyor and mining engineer
- Rosemary Sullivan (born 1947), poet, biographer, academic and anthologist
- Moez Surani (born 1979), poet
- John Sutherland (1919–1956), poet, literary critic, and magazine editor who founded and edited First Statement in 1942 and its successor publication, Northern Review in 1945
- Robert Swanson
- Robert Sward (born 1933), American and Canadian poet and novelist
- George Swede (born 1940), Latvian-born Canadian children's writer and poet who writes Haiku in English
- Todd Swift (born 1966), poet, editor and academic living in the United Kingdom
- Anne Szumigalski (1922–1999)
T
- 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
- Sharon Thesen (born 1946), poet and academic
- Serge Patrice Thibodeau
- Edward William Thomson (born 1849–1924), journalist, writer and poet
- John Thompson (1938–1976)
- Russell Thornton
- Matthew Tierney (born 1970)
- Jose Tlatelpas (born 1953), Mexican native and Canadian resident; Native cultures poet, publisher, and political activist
- Mohamud Siad Togane (born 1943), Somali native and Canadian resident; poet, academic, and political activist
- Lola Lemire Tostevin (born 1937), poet, novelist and writer
- Rhea Tregebov (born 1953), poet and children's writer
- Raymond D. Tremblay, poet, writer, social services agency official
- Roland Michel Tremblay (born 1972), French-Canadian author, poet, scriptwriter, development producer and science-fiction consultant who moved to London, England in 1995
- Tony Tremblay (born 1968), French-Canadian poet, writer, spoken word artist, journalist and radio personality
- Peter Trower (born 1930), poet and novelist
- Mark Truscott(born 1970), born in the United States
- Élise Turcotte (born 26 June 1957), French-Canadian writer and poet
- John Tyndall
- Daniel Scott Tysdal (born 1978)
U
- Marie Uguay (1955–1981), French- Canadian poet
- Priscilla Uppal (born 1974), poet and novelist
- David UU (David W. Harris) (1948–1994), visual poet
V
- R. M. Vaughan, poet, novelist and playwright
- Paul Vermeersch (born 1973)
- 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 (born 1927), poet and radio broadcaster
- John Weier (born 1949)
- Robert Stanley Weir (1856–1926), judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to O Canada, the national anthem of Canada
- Zachariah Wells (born 1976), poet, critic, essayist and editor
- Darren Wershler-Henry (born 1966), experimental poet, non-fiction writer and cultural critic
- David Wevill (born 1935)
- Dawud Wharnsby (born 1972), singer-songwriter, poet, performer, educator and television personality
- Michael Whelan (born 1858–1937) teacher, bookkeeper and poet
- Zoe Whittall (born 1976), poet and novelist
- Anne Wilkinson (1910–1961) Canadian poet, writer and essayist
- Alan R. Wilson
- Sheri-D Wilson, poet and playwright
- Rob Winger, poet and academic
- Theresa Wolfwood, political activist and poet
- George Woodcock (1912–1995), poet, essayist, critic, biographer and historiian; the founder (in 1959) of the journal Canadian Literature
- Lance Woolaver (born 1948) is a Canadian author, poet, playwright and director
Y
- J. Michael Yates (born 1938), poet and dramatist
- 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
Z
- Robert Zend (1929–1985), Hungarian-Canadian poet, fiction writer, and multi-media artist
- David Zieroth
- Rachel Zolf, poet and editor
- Carolyn Zonailo (born 1947), poet and publisher
- Jan Zwicky (born 1955), philosopher, poet, essayist, and violinist
See also
- List of Canadian writers
- List of poets
- List of poetry awards
- List of years in poetry
- List of years in literature