List of Canadian poets
This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to corresponding " in poetry" articles.
A
- Mark Abley, poet, journalist, editor, and non-fiction writer.
- Milton Acorn, poet, writer, and playwright
- José Acquelin
- Gil Adamson, novelist, poet, and short-story writer
- Marie-Célie Agnant, Haitian native living in Canada since 1970; novelist, poet and writer of children's books
- Neil Aitken, poet, editor, and translator
- Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Anishinaabe writer and poet from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation, founder of Kegedonce Press, specializing in indigenous writers
- Donald Alarie, writer, poet, and teacher
- Edna Alford, editor, author, and poet who co-founded the magazine Dandelion
- Sandra Alland, Scottish-Canadian writer, multimedia artist, bookseller, small press publisher, and activist
- Donna Allard, editor and poet
- Lillian Allen, dub poet
- Anne-Marie Alonzo, playwright, poet, novelist, critic, and publisher, born in Egypt and moved to Canada at the age of 12
- George Amabile
- Madhur Anand, poet and scientist
- Marguerite Andersen, German-born, primarily francophone writer, academic and editor
- Patrick Anderson, English-born Canadian poet and academic
- Rod Anderson, poet, musician, and accountant
- Michael Andre, poet, critic, and editor living in the United States
- Jeannette Armstrong, Syilx Okanagan author, educator, artist, and activist
- Tammy Armstrong
- David Arnason, author and poet
- Joanne Arnott, Métis poet, essayist, and activist writer
- Margaret Atwood, poet, novelist, literary critic, feminist, and activist
- Charlotte Aubin
- Martine Audet
- Oana Avasilichioaei, poet and translator
- Margaret Avison
B
- Ken Babstock
- Elizabeth Bachinsky
- Alfred Bailey, poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian, and academic administrator
- Jacob Bailey, Church of England clergyman and poet born in the United States, immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1779
- Marie Annharte Baker is an Anishnabe poet and author
- Chris Banks
- Kaushalya Bannerji, Indian-born poet
- Frances Bannerman, painter and poet
- Joelle Barron
- John Barton
- Gary Barwin, author, composer, children's writer, and poet
- Jalal Barzanji, Kurdish poet and writer living in Canada since 1998
- Shaunt Basmajian, poet and author
- Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo ), Ivoirian born poet and journalist
- Bill Bauer, American-born, living in Canada since 1965, husband of Nancy Bauer
- Nancy Bauer, American-born, living in Canada since 1965, wife of Bill Bauer
- Doug Beardsley, poet and academic
- Nérée Beauchemin, francophone poet and physician
- Derek Beaulieu, poet, publisher, and anthologist.
- Joseph-Isidore Bédard, poet, lawyer, and politician
- Ven Begamudré, Indian-born poet, short-story writer, novelist, and academic
- Henry Beissel, poet, author, writer, and editor
- Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Ken Belford
- Lesley Belleau
- Marlène Belley,
- John Bemrose, arts journalist, novelist, poet, and playwright
- Gwen Benaway
- Robbie Benoit, poet and writer
- Jovette Bernier, Quebec poet, novelist, and journalist
- Jean-Philippe Bergeron, francophone writer and poet
- Craven Langstroth Betts, author and poet
- Navtej Bharati, Indian-born poet and writer in Punjabi and English, publisher of Third Eye Press
- Robert Billings, poet and editor
- Earle Birney
- bill bissett
- Mark Blagrave, writer, short-story writer, playwright, poet, and academic
- Robin Blaser, author and poet
- Laurie Block, poet and educator
- E. D. Blodgett, poet, literary critic, and translator
- Ali Blythe, poet and editor
- Robert Boates
- Christian Bök,, poet and author
- Stephanie Bolster, poet and academic
- Shane Book
- Roo Borson pen name of Ruth Elizabeth Borson, American native living in Canada
- Hédi Bouraoui, Tunisian-born Canadian poet, novelist, and academic
- Arthur Bourinot, poet and lawyer
- George Bowering, novelist, poet, historian, and biographer
- Marilyn Bowering, poet, novelist, and playwright
- Tim Bowling, poet and novelist
- Alex Boyd, poet, fiction writer, critic, essayist, and editor
- Kate Braid, poet and teacher
- Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite, novelist, spoken word artist, dub poet, essayist, digital drummer, and short-story writer
- Shannon Bramer, poet and teacher
- Dionne Brand, poet, novelist, and non-fiction writer born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Canada
- Di Brandt née "Diana Ruth Janzen", poet and literary critic
- Jacques Brault, French Canadian poet and translator
- Diana Brebner
- Brian Brett, poet and novelist
- Elizabeth Brewster, poet and academic
- Robert Bringhurst, poet, typographer, and author
- David Bromige, Canadian poet living in the United States since 1962
- Nicole Brossard, francophone poet and novelist
- Audrey Alexandra Brown
- Ronnie R. Brown, United States-born living in Canada for most of her adult life
- Charles Tory Bruce, poet, journalist and fiction writer
- Julie Bruck
- Robert Budde, poet, novelist, and academic
- Suzanne Buffam
- April Bulmer
- Murdoch Burnett, poet, performance artist, editor, and community activist
- Mick Burrs
- Aaron Bushkowsky
C
- Charmaine Cadeau
- Stephen Cain, poet and academic
- Alison Calder, poet and academic
- Frank Oliver Call
- Barry Callaghan, author, poet, and son of the author Morley Callaghan
- Jason Camlot, poet, scholar, and songwriter
- Anne Cameron, novelist, poet, screenwriter, and short-story writer
- George Frederick Cameron, poet, lawyer, and journalist
- Wilfred Campbell, poet and Anglican clergyman
- Natalee Caple, novelist and poet
- Paul Cargnello, Montreal poet, lyricist
- Bliss Carman, poet and critic
- Anne Carson, poet, essayist, translator, and academic
- Kate Cayley, poet, writer, and theatre director
- Weyman Chan
- Catherine Chandler, poet, translator, and academic
- William Chapman, poet, journalist, and bureaucrat
- Jean Charbonneau, francophone poet who was the primary founder of the Montreal Literary School
- Herménégilde Chiasson, Acadian poet, playwright, journalist, academic, and the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
- Robert Choquette, novelist, poet, and briefly a diplomat
- Lesley Choyce, 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, poet and university writing teacher
- Evie Christie
- Chuan Sha, Chinese-born Canadian poet and author
- Dave Clark, musician and poet
- George Elliott Clarke, poet and playwright.
- Wayne Clifford
- Fred Cogswell
- Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist
- Matt Cohen,, writer and poet
- Victor Coleman
- Don Coles, poet, author, and academic
- Stephen Collis
- John Robert Colombo, poet, anthologist, editor, essayist, and humorist
- Anne Compton, poet, critic, and anthologist
- Wayde Compton, poet, writer, turntable-based "sound poetry" performer, academic who co-founded Commodore Books, the first black-oriented press in Western Canada
- Jan Conn, Canadian-born geneticist and poet living in the United States
- Karen Connelly, writer and poet
- Kevin Connolly, poet, writer, and critic
- Dennis Cooley, poet and academic
- Afua Cooper, Jamaican-born historian and dub poet
- Judith Copithorne, concrete and visual poet
- Paulo da Costa Canadian-Portuguese author, editor, and translator
- Sonia Cotten, poet
- Dani Couture, poet, essayist, critic, and journalist
- Thomas Cowherd, tinsmith and poet
- Isabella Valancy Crawford, poet, novelist, and short-story writer
- Octave Crémazie, francophone poet who has been called "the father of French-Canadian poetry" for his patriotic verse
- Lynn Crosbie, poet and novelist
- Lorna Crozier writes under the name Lorna Uher
- Michael Crummey, poet and writer
- Julie Crysler, journalist and poet
- Nancy Jo Cullen, poet and short story writer
- Jen Currin, United States-born poet
- Kayla Czaga
D
- Cyril Dabydeen, native Guyana poet and writer living in Canada
- Kalli Dakos, children's poet and teacher
- Mary Dalton, poet and academic
- Joseph A. Dandurand, Native American poet, playwright, and archaeologist
- Jean-Paul Daoust
- Beverley Daurio
- Frank Davey, poet and academic
- Nicholas Flood Davin, lawyer, journalist, politician, and poet
- Tanya Davis, spoken word poet and musician
- Tom Dawe, writer, poet, children's book author, and artist
- Adriana de Barros, Portuguese native who moved to Canada at age 3; illustrator, web designer, and poet
- Sadiqa de Meijer
- James Deahl, 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, poet and novelist
- Joe Denham
- Michelle Desbarats
- Anne-Marie Desmeules
- Christopher Dewdney, poet, writer, artist, creative-writing teacher, and writer-in-residence at various universities
- Ann Diamond, an award-winning Montreal poet, novelist, and short-story writer
- Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Italian-born, Canadian poet and priest
- Mary di Michele, Italian-born, Canadian poet, author, and creative-writing teacher
- Adam Dickinson
- Robert Dickson, poet, translator, and academic
- Kildare Dobbs, Indian-born teacher, poet, editor, short-story writer, and travel writer who moved to Canada in 1950
- Jeramy Dodds
- Don Domanski
- Magie Dominic, poet and artist
- Jeffery Donaldson, poet and critic
- David Donnell, poet and writer
- Candas Dorsey, poet and science fiction novelist
- Clive Doucet, writer, poet, and politician
- Gordon Downie, songwriter, poet, and musician
- Orville Lloyd Douglas, poet and writer
- Stan Dragland
- William Henry Drummond, Irish-born Canadian poet
- Louis Dudek, poet, literary critic and publisher
- Marilyn Dumont
- Klara du Plessis
E
- Evelyn Eaton, novelist, short-story writer, poet, and academic
- Vic Elias, American-born, living in Canada from 1979, poet and academic
- David Elliott, poet and academic
- Rebecca Elson, Canadian-American astronomer, academic writer, and poet
- Crispin Elsted
- Karen Enns
- Reuben Epp teacher, school administrator, writer and poet in Plautdietsch
- Michael Estok
F
- Margaret Fairley, English-born Canadian writer, educator and political activist
- Brian Fawcett, poet, novelist, nonfiction author and writer
- Charles Fenerty, poet, journalist, and inventor. Published two poems in book format in 1855 and 1866, and wrote over 32 poems.
- Ferron, born Debby Foisy, folk singer, songwriter and poet
- George Fetherling, wrote as "Doug Feathering" or "Douglas Fetherling" until 1999 when he began using his middle name, American-born poet, novelist, journalist and essayist who moved to Canada at age 18 and became a Canadian citizen
- Connie Fife
- Robert Finch, poet and academic whose area of expertise was French poetry
- Joan Finnigan, writer, poet, teacher and newspaper reporter
- Jon Paul Fiorentino, poet, novelist, short-story writer, academic and editor of Matrix magazine
- Judith Fitzgerald, poet and journalist
- Robert Ford, poet, translator and diplomat
- Raymond Fraser, novelist, poet, biographer, essayist and editor
- Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet, politician, playwright and short-story writer
- Patrick Friesen, poet and university-level creative writing teacher
- Mark Frutkin, American-born novelist and poet who moved to Canada in 1970 as a Vietnam War draft resister
G
- François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant, and historian
- Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, first modernist French Canadian poet
- Bill Gaston, novelist, playwright, short-story writer, and poet
- Antoine Gérin-Lajoie, French Canadian poet and novelist
- Marty Gervais, poet, photographer, professor, journalist, and publisher of Black Moss Press
- Elsa Gidlow
- Angus Morrison Gidney, educator, poet, and journalist
- Gerry Gilbert
- Charles Ignace Adélard Gill, painter and poet
- John Glassco, poet, memoirist, and novelist
- Jacques Godbout, novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker, and poet
- Gérald Godin, French Canadian poet and politician
- Oliver Goldsmith
- Leona Gom, novelist and poet
- Katherine L. Gordon
- Phyllis Gotlieb, science fiction novelist and poet
- Nora Gould
- Sue Goyette, poet and novelist
- Neile Graham, poet and academic
- Alain Grandbois, French Canadian poet
- Richard Greene
- Leslie Greentree, poet, short-story writer, and freelance writer
- Ralph Gustafson, poet and academic
- Genni Gunn, novelist, poet, and translator
- Kristjana Gunnars, Icelandic-Canadian poet and novelist
H
- Paul Haines, poet and jazz lyricist, born in the United States and later a Canadian resident
- Helen Hajnoczky, visual poet
- Phil Hall, poet, academic, and publisher of broadsides and chapbooks under the Flat Singles Press imprint since 1976
- Jane Eaton Hamilton, short-story writer, poet, and photographer
- Claire Harris
- Michael Harris
- Richard Harrison
- Paul Hartal, painter and poet, born in Hungary
- Jill Hartman, poet and editor
- Diana Hartog
- Elisabeth Harvor , novelist and poet
- Robert Hayman, poet, colonist and Proprietary Governor of Bristol's Hope colony in Newfoundland
- Charles Heavysege
- Anne Hébert, French-Canadian novelist and poet
- Allison Hedge Coke 1958), poet, writer, artist, activist, and academic
- Wilfrid Heighington, soldier, writer, poet, lawyer, and politician
- Steven Heighton, novelist and poet
- David Helwig, poet, novelist, and essayist; father of Maggie Helwig
- Maggie Helwig, poet, novelist, peace and human rights activist; daughter of David Helwig
- Brian Henderson, poet, academic, and editor
- Benjamin Hertwig
- Robert Hilles, poet and novelist
- Susan Holbrook
- Clive Holden
- Nancy Holmes
- Cornelia Hoogland, poet and academic
- Leah Horlick
- Sean Horlor poet, former speechwriter, freelance writing consultant
- Karen Houle
- Liz Howard
- Harry Howith
- Ray Hsu, poet and academic
- Helen Humphreys, poet and novelist
- Al Hunter poet, author, tribal leader, and activist
- Aislinn Hunter, poet and author
- Bruce Hunter, teacher, poet, fiction writer, and lifewriter
- Catherine Hunter, poet, novelist, editor, academic, and critic
- Chris Hutchinson
- Douglas Smith Huyghue, Canadian and Australian poet, fiction writer, essayist, and artist
- Maureen Hynes, poet
I
- Susan Ioannou
- Frances Itani, novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist
J
- Suzanne Jacob, novelist, poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, and critic
- Jemeni
- Paulette Jiles, American-born poet and novelist who moved to Canada in 1969
- Rita Joe, Mi'kmaq-Canadian poet and songwriter, called the "poet laureate of the Mi'kmaq people"
- Reg Johanson, composition and literature instructor, poet and essayist
- E. Pauline Johnson, also known as "Tekahionwake"
- D. G. Jones, poet, translator, and educator
- El Jones
- Julie Joosten
- Eve Joseph, 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
- Adeena Karasick, poet and academic
- Rupi Kaur – poet and illustrator
- Lionel Kearns, poet and teacher
- Diane Keating
- Kaie Kellough
- M. T. Kelly, novelist, poet, and playwright.
- Penn Kemp, novelist, playwright, poet and sound poet
- Leo Kennedy, modernist poet, published in the 1930s
- Robert Kirkland Kernighan, poet, journalist, and farmer
- Roy Kiyooka, photographer, poet, and artist
- Barbara Klar
- Johann Peter Klassen, Russian Mennonite poet and writer who immigrated to Canada in 1923 and wrote primarily in German
- Sarah Klassen, poet and fiction writer
- A. M. Klein, poet, journalist, novelist, and short-story writer
- Raymond Knister, novelist, short-story writer, poet, critic, and journalist
- Joy Kogawa, poet and novelist
- Maka Kotto, Cameroon-born francophone Canadian, provincial level politician, former Canadian House of Commons member who published a book of poetry in 2002
- Shane Koyczan, spoken word poet
- Robert Kroetsch ), novelist, poet, non-fiction writer, and academic
- Janice Kulyk Keefer, novelist, poet, and academic
L
- Sonnet L'Abbé, poet and critic
- Pierre Labrie, French Canadian poet
- Edward A. Lacey
- Ben Ladouceur
- Dany Laferrière, Haitian-born francophone novelist, journalist, and poet who moved to Canada in 1976
- Annie Lafleur
- Catherine Lalonde, French Canadian poet and journalist
- Archibald Lampman
- Tim Lander
- Patrick Lane
- M. Travis Lane, American-born Canadian poet who moved to Canada in 1960
- Rina Lasnier, French Canadian poet and playwright
- Evelyn Lau, poet and novelist
- Edythe Morahan de Lauzon
- Irving Layton
- Gérald Leblanc, French Canadian poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and writer
- Félix Leclerc, songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, actor, radio announcer, radio scriptwriter, and writer
- Dennis Lee, poet, writer and children's fiction author
- John B. Lee, author, poet, and academic
- Lily Alice Lefevre
- Sylvia Legris
- John Lent, poet and novelist
- Douglas LePan, diplomat, poet, novelist, and academic
- Alex Leslie
- Tess Liem
- Tim Lilburn, poet and essayist
- Charles Lillard, poet and historian
- Dorothy Livesay
- Billie Livingston, novelist and poet
- Douglas Lochhead, poet, librarian, and academic
- Jennifer LoveGrove
- Pat Lowther
- Laura Lush
- Richard Lush
- Michael Lynch
M
- Rozena Maart, poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, academic, and psychotherapist; South African living in Canada
- Kathy Mac
- Karen Mac Cormack, 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
- Alma Frances McCollum, poet and composer
- Hugh MacDonald, poet, children's writer and editor
- Wilson MacDonald
- Gwendolyn MacEwen, novelist and poet
- Walter Scott MacFarlane, poet and soldier
- Tom MacInnes, poet and writer
- Andrea MacPherson, poet and novelist
- Jay Macpherson, poet and academic *
- Keith Maillard, author and poet
- Charles Mair, poet and political activist
- Robert Majzels, novelist, poet, playwright, and translator
- Alice Major, contemporary poet
- Kim Maltman, poet and physicist
- Donato Mancini
- Eli Mandel, poet, essayist, and academic
- Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, Jamaican-born dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director; Jamaican native living in Canada
- David Manicom, diplomat, poet, and novelist
- Lee Maracle, Native American poet and author
- Blaine Marchand
- Nicole Markotic, poet and novelist
- Daphne Marlatt, née Buckle
- Tom Marshall, Canadian poet and novelist
- Émile Martel
- Garth Martens
- Camille Martin, poet and collage artist
- Sid Marty, poet, author, and musician
- Robin Mathews, poet and professor, known for his political activism in support of Canadian independence from U.S. domination
- Seymour Mayne, poet and literary translator
- Micheline Maylor, poet and academic
- Chandra Mayor, poet and novelist
- Robert McBride, Irish-born Canadian poet
- Steven McCabe, contemporary artist and poet
- Steve McCaffery, poet and academic born in England and moved to Toronto in 1968; husband of poet Karen MacCormack
- Julia McCarthy
- Susan McCaslin, poet and academic
- Kathleen McCracken
- John McCrae, 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, is a poet and busker
- David McFadden, poet, fiction writer, and travel writer
- Wendy McGrath, poet and novelist
- David McGimpsey, poet, humorist, and academic
- Nadine McInnis, poet, short-story writer and essayist
- James McIntyre called The Cheese Poet
- Don McKay poet editor and educator
- Barry McKinnon
- Brendan McLeod poet novelist, member of The Fugitives.
- Susan McMaster poet literary editor and spoken word performer
- Eugene McNamara poet, author and teacher
- Steve McOrmond, poet and academic
- Mary Melfi, Italian-born poet novelist, and playwright who immigrated to Canada as a young child
- Iman Mersal, Egyptian-born Egyptian/Canadian poet and professor of Arabic literature
- Bruce Meyer, poet and academic
- Pauline Michel novelist, poet, playwright, songwriter and screenwriter
- Anne Michaels poet and novelist
- Marianne Micros
- Roy Miki poet and academic
- Kenneth G. Mills
- Roswell George Mills
- Gaston Miron, French Canadian poet writer and editor
- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Primarily an author, but also a poet from PEI.
- Marion E. Moodie, nurse, botanist, and poet
- Susanna Moodie, British-born Canadian author and poet
- Jacob McArthur Mooney
- Pamela Mordecai, Jamaican writer, teacher, scholar, and poet living in Canada since 1994
- Pierre Morency, 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, poet and playwright
- Colin Morton
- A. F. Moritz, poet and academic
- Garry Thomas Morse
- Daniel David Moses, Native American Canadian poet and playwright
- Erin Mouré
- Jane Munro
- Sachiko Murakami
- William Murdoch, 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, poet and children's writer
N
- Akhtar Naraghi
- Roger Nash, English-born philosopher, poet, and academic
- Lyle Neff, poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic
- Lorri Neilsen Glenn, poet, ethnographer, essayist, and academic
- Émile Nelligan, francophone poet from Quebec
- Holly Nelson, writer, poet, activist, journalist, leader of the Green Party of Manitoba
- Pierre Nepveu, French Canadian poet, novelist, and essayist
- W. H. New, poet, editor, and literary critic
- bpNichol 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
- Alden Nowlan, poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist
O
- Patrick O'Connell
- Alexandra Oliver
- Sheree-Lee Olson, novelist, poet, and journalist
- Michael Ondaatje, Sri Lankan novelist and poet with Canadian citizenship
- Heather O'Neill, novelist, poet, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist
- Fernand Ouellette
- Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska, French-Canadian writer, novelist, essayist, and poet
- Richard Outram, 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
- Corrado Paina, Italian poet living in Canada since 1987, editorial director of the quarterly magazine ItalyCanada Trade
- Arleen Paré
- Lisa Pasold
- John Pass, 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, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and drummer of the Canadian Rock band Rush
- Soraya Peerbaye
- W. T. Pfefferle, poet, writer, and academic
- M. NourbeSe Philip, poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, and short-story writer
- Ben Phillips, poet, teacher, and publisher
- Alison Pick, poet and novelist
- Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, American-born poet, spoken-word poet, writer, educator, and social activist living in Canada
- Jean-Guy Pilon, French Canadian poet
- Sarah Pinder
- George Pirie, newspaper publisher and poet
- Al Pittman, poet and playwright
- Michel Pleau
- Emily Pohl-Weary, novelist, poet, and magazine editor
- Craig Poile
- Laurent Poliquin, French Canadian poet and academic
- Sandy Pool
- Joël Pourbaix
- B. W. Powe, author, poet, and academic
- Claire Pratt, artist, poet, and editor; daughter of writer and editor Viola Whitney and E. J. Pratt, a poet and academic
- E. J. Pratt, poet and academic
- Frank Prewett, poet and broadcaster, who spent most of his life in the United Kingdom; a war poet of World War I
- Robert Priest, poet and children's author
- Stefan Psenak, French Canadian poet, playwright, and novelist
- Al Purdy, writer, editor, and poet
Q
- Andy Quan, author who moved to Australia
- Joseph Quesnel, 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, educator and poet
- Ian Iqbal Rashid, Canadian/British Muslim poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker of Indian descent; has lived primarily in London
- Angela Rawlings
- James Reaney, poet, playwright, and literary critic
- Michael Redhill, American-born Canadian poet, playwright, and novelist
- D. C. Reid, poet, novelist, and short-story writer
- Jamie Reid
- Shane Rhodes
- Charles G.D. Roberts, poet and prose writer; called the "Father of Canadian Poetry" for his influence on other poets
- Lisa Robertson, poet, essayist, and writer
- Matt Robinson
- Ajmer Rode, poet, playwright, and writer in Punjabi and English
- Gordon Rodgers, poet, novelist, and clinical psychologist
- Carmen Rodríguez, 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, poet and children's writer
- Joe Rosenblatt, Governor General's Award-winning experimentalist
- Laisha Rosnau, novelist and poet
- Bruce Ross, poet, author, academic, and past president of the Haiku Society of America
- Stuart Ross, writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor
- W.W.E. Ross, imagist poet of the 1920s and 1930s, has been called "Canada's first modern poet"
- Annie Rothwell, 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
- André Roy
S
- Lake Sagaris, journalist, poet, and translator living in Chile
- Rodney Saint-Éloi
- Trish Salah, academic, writer, and poet whose first volume of poetry appeared in 2002
- Peter Sanger, poet and prose writer, critic, editor, and academic born in England, immigrated to Canada in 1953
- Charles Sangster
- Robyn Sarah
- Félix-Antoine Savard, 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, United States-born poet and short-story writer who moved to Canada in 1975, mother of Jacob Scheier
- Andreas Schroeder, German-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer
- Stephen Scobie, poet, critic, and academic
- Gregory Scofield
- Duncan Campbell Scott, poet and writer
- F. R. Scott, also known as Frank Scott, poet, intellectual and constitutional expert
- Jordan Scott
- Peter Dale Scott, poet and academic
- Olive Senior, Jamaican poet and short-story writer living in Canada
- Robert W. Service, poet and writer
- Kathy Shaidle, author, columnist, and poet
- Francis Sherman
- Joseph Sherman, poet and visual arts editor
- Carol Shields, 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, Bosnian-born poet, playwright, and short-story writer living in Canada since 1995
- Melanie Siebert
- Bren Simmers
- Anne Simpson, poet and novelist
- Sue Sinclair
- George Sipos
- Sonja Skarstedt, poet, short-story writer, playwright, painter, and illustrator who founded and edited the now-defunct literary magazine Zymergy, and founded Empyreal Press in 1990
- Robin Skelton, sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Georges Zuk", a purported French surrealist, 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, translator, poet, playwright, and academic
- Carolyn Smart, English-born poet, author and academic
- Elizabeth Smart, 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, poet and academic
- Clara Kathleen Smith, poet and educator
- Douglas Burnet Smith
- John Smith, poet and academic
- Michael V. Smith novelist, poet and filmmaker
- Ron Smith, 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, poet, arts journalist, Poet Laureate of Banff, previous Director Literary Arts, Banff Centre
- Karen Solie
- David Solway, poet, educational theorist, travel writer, and literary critic
- Madeline Sonik, novelist, short-story writer, children's-book author, editor, and poet
- Carolyn Marie Souaid, poet and editor, living in Montreal, co-founder of Poetry Quebec magazine
- Raymond Souster, Toronto poet
- Esta Spalding, American-born Canadian author, screenwriter, and poet
- Heather Spears, poet, novelist, and artist living in Denmark since 1962
- Birk Sproxton, poet and novelist
- Harold Standish, 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, poet and novelist
- Ian Stephens, journalist, musician, and poet associated with the spoken word movement
- Ricardo Sternberg, poet born in Brazil, educated in the United States
- Richard Stevenson
- Shannon Stewart
- W. Gregory Stewart, 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, poet and novelist
- Andrew Suknaski, Saskatchewan poet
- Alan Sullivan, poet, short-story writer, railroad surveyor, and mining engineer
- Rosemary Sullivan, poet, biographer, academic, and anthologist
- Moez Surani, poet
- John Sutherland, 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, American and Canadian poet and novelist
- George Swede, Latvian-born Canadian children's writer and poet who writes Haiku in English
- Todd Swift, poet, editor, and academic living in the United Kingdom
- Anne Szumigalski
T
- Proma Tagore
- Bruce Taylor
- Heather Taylor, poet, playwright, and teacher living in England since 2002
- Ruth Taylor, poet, editor, and academic
- John Terpstra, poet and carpenter
- Souvankham Thammavongsa
- Sharon Thesen, poet and academic
- Serge Patrice Thibodeau
- Kai Cheng Thom
- Edward William Thomson, journalist, writer, and poet
- John Thompson
- Russell Thornton
- Matthew Tierney
- Jose Tlatelpas, Mexican native and Canadian resident; Native cultures poet, publisher, and political activist
- Mohamud Siad Togane, Somali native and Canadian resident; poet, academic, and political activist
- Lola Lemire Tostevin, poet, novelist, and writer
- Michaël Trahan
- Kim Trainor, Vancouver poet
- Rhea Tregebov, poet and children's writer
- Raymond D. Tremblay, poet, writer, social services agency official
- Roland Michel Tremblay, French-Canadian author, poet, scriptwriter, development producer, and science-fiction consultant who moved to London, England in 1995
- Tony Tremblay, French-Canadian poet, writer, spoken word artist, journalist, and radio personality
- Peter Trower, poet and novelist
- Mark Truscott, born in the United States
- Élise Turcotte, French-Canadian writer and poet
- John Tyndall
- Daniel Scott Tysdal
U
- Marie Uguay, French-Canadian poet
- Priscila Uppal, poet and novelist
- David UU , visual poet
V
- Léonise Valois, first French Canadian woman to publish a collection of poetry
- Peter van Toorn
- R. M. Vaughan, poet, novelist, and playwright
- Paul Vermeersch
- Katherena Vermette
- Gilles Vigneault, Quebec poet, publisher, and singer-songwriter; Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist
- Pamelia Sarah Vining
- Garth Von Buchholz British Columbia poet, dark fiction author, playwright, journalist, and arts critic
- Prvoslav Vujčić
W
- Miriam Waddington née Dworkin 1917–2004), poet, short-story writer, and translator
- Michael Wade
- Fred Wah, poet, novelist, and scholar
- Bronwen Wallace, poet and short-story writer
- Tom Walmsley, playwright, novelist, poet, and screenwriter
- Agnes Walsh, actor, poet, playwright, and storyteller
- David Waltner-Toews, 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, writer, poet, and painter
- Tom Wayman, poet and academic
- Phyllis Webb, poet and radio broadcaster
- John Weier
- Robert Stanley Weir, judge and poet most famous for writing the English lyrics to O Canada, the national anthem of Canada
- Zachariah Wells, poet, critic, essayist, and editor
- Darren Wershler-Henry, experimental poet, non-fiction writer, and cultural critic
- David Wevill
- Dawud Wharnsby, singer-songwriter, poet, performer, educator, and television personality
- Michael Whelan teacher, bookkeeper, and poet
- Joshua Whitehead
- Bruce Whiteman, poet, writer, scholar, and essayist.
- Isabella Whiteford,, poet who also write under the name Caed Mille Failtha
- Zoe Whittall, poet and novelist
- Anne Wilkinson, 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, poet, essayist, critic, biographer, and historian; the founder of the journal Canadian Literature
- Lance Woolaver, author, poet, playwright, and director
Y
- J. Michael Yates, poet and dramatist
- Leo Yerxa
- Jean Yoon, 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
- Robert Zend, Hungarian-Canadian poet, fiction writer, and multi-media artist
- David Zieroth
- Rachel Zolf, poet and editor
- Daniel Zomparelli
- Carolyn Zonailo, poet and publisher
- Jan Zwicky, philosopher, poet, essayist, and violinist