Alexander Knox, actor, novelist, playwright (b at Strathroy, Ont 16 Jan 1907; d at Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK 25 Apr 1995). Alexander Knox was educated at the University of Western Ontario, and first appeared on the American stage with the Boston Repertory Theatre in 1929.

Ann-Marie MacDonald, playwright, actor, novelist, (born at Baden-Baden, West Germany 29 Oct 1958).

Catherine O'Hara, actor, writer, singer (born 4 March 1954 in Toronto, ON). O’Hara is known for her work on SCTV, as well as her roles in films such as Beetlejuice, Home Alone, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. She has received many awards, including an Emmy, Gemini and Genie, and has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Catherine (Cathy) Jones, actor, writer (born at St John's 6 April 1955). Cathy Jones attended Holy Heart of Mary High School and by the age of 17 had joined the Newfoundland Travelling Theatre Company with her brother Andy for a summer of touring the province.

Joseph Boyden, novelist, short-story writer (born 31 October 1966 in Toronto). Joseph Boyden is of Irish, Scots, and Métis descent and the son of a highly decorated medical officer of World War II (Raymond Wilfrid Boyden).

Farley Mowat, OC, author, environmentalist, activist (born 12 May 1921 in Belleville, Ontario; died 6 May 2014 in Port Hope, ON). Mowat is one of Canada's most widely read authors. His books have been translated into 52 languages and have sold more than 17 million copies around the world.

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, CC, poet, novelist, critic (born 18 November 1939 in Ottawa, ON). A varied and prolific writer, Margaret Atwood is one of Canada's major contemporary authors.

Alistair MacLeod, OC, short story writer, novelist (born 20 July 1936 in North Battleford, SK; died 20 April 2014 in Windsor, ON).

Henri Bourassa, politician, journalist (born at Montréal 1 Sept 1868; d there 31 Aug 1952). His family was one of the most prominent in the province; his father was a well-known painter, and his grandfather, Louis-Joseph Papineau, was a celebrated folk hero of the Rebellions of 1837.

Michael Ondaatje, OC, poet, novelist, filmmaker, editor (born 12 Sept 1943 in Colombo, Sri Lanka). Michael Ondaatje's work combines the factual and the imaginary, poetry and prose.

Mordecai Richler, CC, novelist, essayist, social critic (born 27 January 1931 in Montréal, QC; died 3 July 2001 in Montréal, QC).

Lucy Maud Montgomery, writer (b at Clifton, PEI 30 Nov 1874; d at Toronto 24 Apr 1942). Lucy Maud Montgomery published her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, in 1908.

Lisa Moore, short-story writer, novelist (born 28 March 1964 in St. John's, NL). Three-time nominee for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (2002, 2005 and 2013), winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and long listed for the Man Booker Prize.

Lynn Coady, writer, editor, playwright, journalist (born 24 January 1970 in Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton, NS). An acclaimed novelist and short story writer, Lynn Coady is an acute, often hilarious observer of the absurdities and indignities of everyday life in small town Canada.

“He drank like a fish.” “The early bird gets the worm.” “It’s raining cats and dogs.

January 1, 1835 turned out to be memorable both for Joseph Howe and for Nova Scotia.

"A man never lives so innocently that he never gets into trouble," Stephán G. Stephansson mused in 1910 in a letter to an old friend. Stephansson, a farmer and poet in west central Alberta, indeed had been in trouble much of his adult life.

Alfred Earle Birney, poet (b at Calgary 13 May 1904; d at Toronto, Ont 3 Sept 1995). Beginning with David and Other Poems (1942), Birney's poetry consistently explored the resources of language with passionate and playful curiosity.

Earle Parkhill Scarlett, physician (b at High Bluff, Man 27 June 1896; d at Calgary 14 June 1982). He received his BA from U Man in 1916 and then served in WWI with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, was gassed in 1917 and severely wounded in 1918.

Stephen Leacock, humorist, essayist, teacher, political scientist, historian (b at Swanmore, Eng 30 Dec 1869; d at Toronto 28 Mar 1944).

Leonard (Norman) Cohen. Poet, singer-songwriter, novelist, b Montreal 21 Sep 1934; BA English (McGill) 1955, honorary LLD (Dalhousie) 1971, honorary D LITT (McGill) 1992.

Leonard Cohen, poet, novelist, songwriter (b at Montréal, Qué 21 Sept 1934). Cohen was one of the most influential and popular 1960s Canadian writers and his songs gained him an international reputation.

William Stener Ferguson, travel writer and novelist (born at Fort Vermilion, AB, 12 Oct 1964). Will Ferguson was educated in western Canada and graduated with a BFA from York University. Ferguson's writing encompasses the whole of human experience.

Timothy Findley, OC, O Ont, writer, actor, playwright (born 30 October 1930 in Toronto; died 20 June 2002 in Brignoles, France).