Gilbert Malcolm Sproat (19 April 1834 – 4 June 1913) was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman, office holder, and author.

Born in Brighouse Farm Borgue near Kirkcudbright, Scotland, he arrived on Vancouver Island in 1860, where he helped to found the first sawmill in Port Alberni, British Columbia.

When the sawmill burnt down in 1865, Sproat returned to England, but maintained his interest in the affairs of the colony, which was united with the mainland in 1866.

Sproat's fascination with the First Nations people he encountered on Vancouver Island, led to his best remembered book, The Nootka:Scenes and studies of savage life, which appeared in 1868.

After 1898, Sproat returned to Victoria, where he spent the majority of his time writing.