They live in some 180 countries. Their ranks include world leaders, astronauts, Nobel laureates—and a host of trailblazers in arts, sciences, business and public service. Whatever their passion, wherever their home, McGill’s 250,000 living alumni are using their education and experiences to making a difference in the world. They’re improving lives through their groundbreaking medical discoveries, plumbing the human condition in thought-provoking art and driving the economy with their business acumen. Explore this sampling of McGill’s distinguished graduates:
By field:
Some notables (in alphabetical order):
- MIKE BABCOCK (BEd’86), coached hockey teams to victory in the 2004 World Championships, the 2008 Stanley Cup and the 2010 & 2014 Olympic Games
- ALAIN BELLEMARE (MBA'93), President and Chief Executive Officer at Bombardier Inc.
- WILLARD BOYLE (BSc'47, MSc'48 and PhD'50), winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics
- WIN BUTLER (BA’04), lead vocalist and co-founder of the Grammy- and Juno-winning Arcade Fire
- THOMAS CHANG, BSc'57, MDCM'61, PhD'65, invented the world's first artificial cell while an undergraduate at McGill
- LEONARD COHEN (BA’55), novelist, poet, singer and songwriter
- KEN DRYDEN (LLB’73), politician, former National Hockey League goaltender and winner of six Stanley Cups
- JAKE EBERTS (BEng’62, DLitt’98), producer of the Oscar-winning films Dances with Wolves, Gandhi and Driving Miss Daisy
- DARREN ENTWISTLE (MBA’88), President and Chief Executive Officer of Telus Corporation
- DOMINIQUE FORTIER (PhD'03), winner of the 2016 Governor General's Literary Award for French fiction for Au péril de la mer
- CLÉMENT GASCON (BCL’81), was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2014
- NANCY GRANT (BA’06), producer of the Canadian Screen Award-, César- and Jutra-winning film Mommy
- JOHN HUMPHREY (BCom'25, BA'27, BCL'29, PhD'45, LLD'76), wrote the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- LUC JOBIN (DPA'82), President and Chief Executive Officer of CN Rail
- HUBERT LACROIX (BCL’76, MBA’81), President and Chief Executive Officer of CBC/Radio Canada
- MARY LAWSON (BA’68), best-selling author of Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge and Road Ends
- JOANNE LIU (MDCM'91, IMHL'14), is the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières
- MARC MAYER (BA’84), art curator and director of the National Gallery of Canada
- TOM MULCAIR (BCL'76, LLB'77), succeeded Jack Layton as leader of the New Democratic Party
- JOE OLIVER (BA'61, BCL'64), Federal Minister of Finance
- HEATHER O'NEILL (BA’94), novelist and short story writer whose novels have been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction
- STEVEN PINKER (BA’76, DSc’99), author and experimental psychologist who has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
- MOSHE SAFDIE (BArch’61, LLD’82), architect whose work includes the National Gallery of Canada and Habitat 67, a housing complex designed for Expo 67
- WILLIAM SHATNER (BCom’52), actor famous for starring in the television series’ Star Trek and Boston Legal
- RALPH STEINMAN (BSc'63), winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- JACK SZOSTAK (BSc’72), co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- CHARLES TAYLOR (BA’52), philosopher who, in 2008, became the first Canadian to win the Kyoto Prize for arts and philosophy
- JUSTIN TRUDEAU BA'94, Canada's current Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
- DAVE WILLIAMS (BSc'76, MSc'83, MDCM'83, DSc’07), astronaut who set the Canadian record for total number of spacewalks; he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013
- MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN (BA’57, BCL’61), editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report and publisher of the New York Daily News
