This is a list of notable people who have lived on Cape Breton Island.

Arts

• Steve Arbuckle, actor from Donkin
• The Barra MacNeils, singing group
• John Beardman, abstract painter
• Kate Beaton, webcomic artist from Mabou, winner of the 2009 Doug Wright Award for "Best Emerging Talent"
• Nathan Bishop, singer-songwriter from Celtae
• Kay Boutilier, singer, perhaps better known as "My Name is Kay"
• John Allan Cameron, singer-songwriter, from Glencoe Station, credited as the "godfather" of Cape Breton's modern Celtic music revival
• Ronald Caplan, historian, publisher, member of the Order of Canada
• Lynn Coady, author, winner of the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize
• Nathan Cohen, theatre critic, broadcaster, publisher
• J. P. Cormier, singer-songwriter; fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar player; Chéticamp
• Lee Cremo, fiddle player ^[1]
• Mark Day, film and television actor, writer, and producer
• Aselin Debison, singer-songwriter
• Don Domanski, poet
• Carolyn Dunn, film and television actor from Whitney Pier
• Fire Valley Fire, rock band
• Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald, fiddle player from White Point
• Robert Frank, photographer
• Danny Gallivan, Hockey Night in Canada sportscaster
• John Gracie, singer-songwriter
• Bruce Guthro, singer-songwriter
• Drake Jensen, singer-songwriter
• Rita Joe, Mi'kmaw poet and songwriter
• Angus MacAskill, giant and circus performer
• Allie MacDonald, actress
• Frankie MacDonald, YouTube phenomenon and winner of the Vital Cape Breton Excellence Award
• Martin MacDonald, orchestral conductor
• Mitch MacDonald, singer-songwriter
• Linden MacIntyre, journalist, broadcaster, novelist, winner of 2009 Giller Prize
• Ashley MacIsaac, fiddle player
• Daniel MacIvor, actor, playwright, theatre director and film director
• Billy MacLellan, actor ( Nobody, Defiance, Murdoch Mysteries)
• Hugh MacLennan, Governor General's Awards-winning author, professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award
• Alistair MacLeod, author
• Buddy MacMaster, fiddle player
• Natalie MacMaster, fiddle player
• Rita MacNeil, singer-songwriter
• Matt Minglewood, musician
• Farley Mowat, writer, had his summer residence in Cape Breton ^[2]
• Jordan Musycsyn, singer-songwriter
• Scott Oake, sportscaster
• Alicia Penney, musician
• Daniel Petrie, Hollywood filmmaker
• Pretty Archie, country/bluegrass band
• The Rankin Family, singers-songwriters
• Molly Rankin, musician from Inverness
• Rick Ravanello, actor, Hart's War; various TV series, including 24, CSI and Desperate Housewives
• A. J. Reynolds, internationally syndicated radio host
• Rock Ranger, alternative rock band
• Harold Russell, Academy Award-winning actor for his portrayal of Homer Parrish in the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives
• Gordie Sampson, singer-songwriter
• Douglas September, singer-songwriter
• Richard Serra, sculptor
• Slowcoaster, rock band
• Jay Smith, musician
• Amy Spurway, author
• Static In Action, punk band
• Tom Fun Orchestra, rock band
• Morgan Toney, Mi'kmaw fiddle player
• The Town Heroes, rock band
• Carmen Townsend, musician
• Scott Turner, songwriter

Athletics

• Paul Boutilier
• Norm Ferguson
• Trevor Fahey
• Aaron Johnson
• Andrew MacDonald
• Al MacInnis
• Mike McPhee
• Johnny Miles
• Ryan Rozicki
• Bobby Smith
• Doug Sulliman
• Kevin Morrison
• Logan Shaw

Politics, the law, and business

• John George Bourinot (younger), 3rd Clerk of the House of Commons (Canada)
• John Buchanan, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Gerald Butts, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
• William Davis, coal miner murdered by British Empire Steel Corporation police and namesake of Davis Day in New Waterford, Nova Scotia
• Mayann Francis, first Black Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
• Clarence Gillis, Member of Parliament
• Ruth Goldbloom, philanthropist, member of the Order of Canada
• Alasdair Graham, Senator
• Gordon Sidney Harrington, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Angus L. MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Donald MacDonald, President of the Canadian Labour Congress and MLA
• Finlay MacDonald, Senator
• Rodney MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Allan MacEachen, Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister
• Russell MacLellan, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Kevin S. MacLeod, Canadian Secretary to the Queen
• Donald Marshall, Jr., wrongly convicted Mi’kmaq activist
• David Mathews, former Mayor of New York City under the British during the American Revolution
• Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada
• J.B. McLachlan, trade-unionist, journalist, political activist, and revolutionary
• John W. Morgan, Mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality
• Robert Muir, Member of Parliament; Senator
• George Henry Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia
• Lisa Raitt, Conservative MP and former federal Minister of Transport, Labour and Natural Resources
• Irving Schwartz, businessman, philanthropist, member of the Order of Canada
• Alexander S. Williams, NYPD officer, candidate for US Senate

Religion

• Moses Coady, Roman Catholic priest, helped found the Co-operative Antigonish Movement at St. Francis Xavier University
• Moses E. Kiley, Roman Catholic archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Reverend Norman McLeod, Presbyterian minister, St Ann's; migrated in the 1850s with 800 settlers from surrounding communities to Waipu, New Zealand
• James "Father Jimmy" Tompkins, Roman Catholic priest, helped found the Co-operative Antigonish Movement at St. Francis Xavier University

Sciences

• Walter Mackenzie, Dr. - Dean of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Arthur B. McDonald, astrophysicist and joint winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics

Other

• John Bernard Croak V.C.
• Neil McLean, a New Zealand public works contractor and sportsman ^[3]
• Isaac Phills, Order of Canada recipient

References