List of Acadians

This is a list of notable Acadians, and people of Acadia origins.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Acadian or must have references showing they are Acadian and are notable.

Actors

• Matthew Steven LeBlanc – actor, known for TV show Friends. Both of his father's parents are of Acadian ancestry. Descendant of Daniel LeBlanc.
• Robert Maillet – actor, professional wrestler from Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick
• Patricia McKenzie – actress born in Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Painchaud family)
• Philip Bourneuf – actor born in Somerville, Massachusetts. His parents, Ambrose Bourneuf and Josephine Comeau, are of Acadian ancestry. His mother was born in Clare, Nova Scotia as were his paternal grandparents.
• Ryan Doucette – actor from Clare, Nova Scotia

Law and politics

• Aubin-Edmond Arsenault – former Premier of Prince Edward Island (1917–1919)
• Joseph-Octave Arsenault – first Acadian Prince Edward Island member of the Canadian Senate
• Télesphore Arsenault – Canadian politician, business manager and farmer
• Marcel Arsenault – philanthropist billionaire, donated all his wealth to charity
• Guy Arseneault – Provincial MLA and former Member of the House of Commons of Canada (1988–1997)
• Michel Bastarache – Supreme Court of Canada (1997–2008)
• Léopold Belliveau – first Acadian mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick
• Edmond Blanchard – chief justice of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, former politician
• Gérald Clavette – New Brunswick politician
• Ambroise-Hilaire Comeau – first Acadian from Nova Scotia to be a member of the Canadian Senate
• Gerald Comeau – former member of the Canadian Senate
• Chris d'Entremont – Nova Scotia MLA, Minister of Health and Acadian Affairs

• Ray Frenette – former Premier of New Brunswick (1997–1998)
• Brian Gallant – former Premier of New Brunswick (2014–2018)
• Arthur J. LeBlanc – former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (1998–2017) and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (2017–2024)
• Dominic LeBlanc — Canadian MP and cabinet minister (son of Roméo LeBlanc)
• Neil LeBlanc – Consul General to Boston, Massachusetts, and former Nova Scotia MLA, Minister of Finance
• Roméo LeBlanc – politician and journalist, former Governor-General of Canada (1995–1999)
• Viola Léger – former senator and actress
• Pascal Poirier – first Acadian member of the Canadian Senate (1885–1933)
• Louis Robichaud – former Premier of New Brunswick (1960–1970)
• Camille Thériault – former Premier of New Brunswick (1998–1999)
• Robert Thibault – Canadian Liberal MP
• Peter J. Veniot – former Premier of New Brunswick (1923–1925)

Military veterans

• Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
• Alexandre Bourg
• Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil)
• Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
• Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
• Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
• Joseph d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
• François Dupont Duvivier
• Joseph-Nicolas Gautier and his wife
• Joseph Godin dit Bellefontaine, Sieur de Beauséjour – Commander of the Acadian Militia of the St-John River valley (St. John River Campaign)
• William Johnson (Guillaume Jeanson) – Battle of Bloody Creek (1757)
• Bernard Marres 'Marc' dit La Sonde – fought the British at Canso, Nova Scotia (1718)
• Abel LeBlanc – Petit de Grat, NS, West Nova Scotia Regiment, wounded while in combat in Italy.
• Joseph LeBlanc, dit Le Maigre
• Pierre II Surette
• Joseph Winniett – supported the British; grandchild of Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste

Musicians

• Angèle Arsenault – singer-songwriter, media host
• Marcel Aymar – singer
• Édith Butler – singer-songwriter
• Zachary Richard – singer-songwriter
• - singer-songwriter
• Julie Doiron – singer-songwriter
• Patsy Gallant – singer and actress
• Boozoo Chavis – singer-songwriter
• Wilfred Le Bouthillier – singer
• Lisa LeBlanc – singer-songwriter
• Anna Malenfant – contralto and composer
• Natasha St-Pier – singer
• Radio Radio – hip hop group; Jacques Doucet, Alexandre Bilodeau, Gabriel Malenfant
• Fayo – singer-songwriter
• Yvette Tollar – jazz singer, composer
• Roch Voisine – singer-songwriter
• P'tit Belliveau – singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer
• Clarence White – guitarist

Sports

• Louis Cyr – weightlifter, "Strongest Man in the World"
• Eric Cyr – MLB player
• Paul Cyr – NHL player
• Jean Béliveau – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
• Luc Bourdon – NHL player
• Leo Burke (Leonce Cormier) – wrestler
• Jean-Louis Cormier (Rudy Kay) – wrestler
• Rhéal Cormier – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Yvon Cormier (The Beast) – wrestler
• René Duprée – wrestler
• Yvon Durelle – boxer
• Suzanne Gaudet – curler
• Ron Guidry – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Lance Cormier – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Bobby Hebert – NFL Quarterback New Orleans Saints
• Camille Henry – NHL player, winner of the Lady Byng Trophy and the Calder Memorial Trophy
• Bobby Kay (Romeo Cormier) – wrestler
• Jacques LeBlanc – boxer
• Robert Maillet – wrestler
• Roland Melanson – NHL goalie
• Chad Ogea – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Dustin Poirier – Mixed martial arts fighter
• Henri Richard – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
• Maurice Richard – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
• Ryan Theriot – Major League Baseball infielder

Visual artists

• Elizabeth Lefort – tapestry artist, Order of Canada
• Anne-Marie Sirois – visual artist, writer and film director

Writers

• Gilbert Buote – educator, publisher and author
• Anselme Chiasson – Catholic priest, educator, writer
• Herménégilde Chiasson – writer, ex-lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick
• Joey Comeau – writer, comic creator
• France Daigle – writer and playwright
• Andrea Doucet – sociologist and writer
• Clive Doucet – writer
• Placide Gaudet – historian, educator, genealogist and journalist. His research and papers play an important role in the preservation of the Acadian history.
• Valentin Landry – journalist and educator
• Émilie Leblanc – Acadian activist and educator
• Gérald Leblanc – poet
• Louis Haché – writer, translator, historian
• Antonine Maillet – writer and playwright; Prix Goncourt 1979
• Alden Nowlan – poet, novelist, and playwright
• Marie-Colombe Robichaud – writer and playwright

Media

• Phil Comeau – film and television director; 92 film awards, Order of Canada, Order of New Brunswick
• Lyse Doucet – news correspondent and presenter, BBC World
• Sami Landri – Drag artist and social media personality

Pre-deportation

• David Basset – trader and privateer
• Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil)
• Noel Doiron – leader of the Acadians; died in the single greatest tragedy of the Expulsion, the sinking of the Duke William
• Joseph-Nicolas Gautier – merchant trader and Acadian militia leader
• Daniel LeBlanc – immigrant and progenitor of the LeBlanc family, the largest Acadian family at the time of the deportation
• Pierre LeBlanc – early settler of Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia
• Bernard Marot (fl. 1590–1650) – French surgeon and ship's captain.
• Philippe Mius d'Entremont – lieutenant-major under Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, who, in 1653, awarded him the first fief in Acadia, the Barony of Pobomcoup (currently Pubnico, Nova Scotia). He later became the King's Attorney in Acadia.
• Joseph d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin – military officer and Abenaki chief
• Pierre II Surette – Acadian resistance leader and co-founder of Ste. Anne du Ruisseau, Nova Scotia
• Jeanne Dugas – wife of Pierre Bois, one of the co-founders of Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

See also

• List of First Nations peoples
• List of Cajuns
• List of Louisiana Creoles
• List of people by nationality

References