List of Acadians explained

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
• Télésphore 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)
• 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^[1]
• Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil)^[2]
• 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^[3]
• Charles Raymond
• 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
• 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
• [Herman Pierre Daigle] – singer, guitarist
• 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

• Anne-Marie Sirois – artist

Writers

• Gilbert Buote – educator, publisher and author^[4]
• 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^[5]
• Émilie Leblanc – Acadian activist and educator^[6]
• 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^[7]

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

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

Notes and References

1. Bourg, Belle-Humeur, Alexandre . d'Entremont . C.J. . 3 .
2. Book: Brodhead, John Romeyn. John Romeyn Brodhead. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. 10. Albany. Weed, Parsons and Co.. 1858. List of Veterans named by Governor of Boston. 155.
3. Leblanc, Le Maigre, Joseph . 3 . Pothier . Bernard .
4. Buote, Gilbert . Georges . Arsenault . 13 .
5. Landry, Valentin . Ross . Sally . 14 .
6. Web site: Open letter – Marichette . McCord Museum.
7. Web site: Festival des cultures francophones . Dalhousie University.