Rankings of universities in Canada are typically published annually by a variety of nationally, and internationally based publications. Rankings of post-secondary institutions have most often been conducted by magazines, newspapers, websites, governments, or academia. Ranking are established to help inform potential applicants about universities in Canada based on a range of criteria, including student body characteristics, classes, faculty, finances, library, and reputation. Various rankings consider combinations of factors, including funding and endowment, research excellence and/or influence, specialization expertise, admissions, student options, award numbers, internationalization, graduate employment, industrial linkage, historical reputation and other criteria. Various rankings also evaluate universities based on research output.
Several Canadian-based publication have produced rankings of universities in Canada, the most prominent being the news magazine Maclean's under the name Guide to Canadian Universities which began in 1991. Canadian-based publications have generally limited their rankings to only universities in Canada. Several universities in Canada have also placed in rankings which includes other universities from around the world; such as Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.
International rankings Opinion-based Several international publications assess the quality of a university by using the weighted average of opinions gathered in surveys, alongside other quantitative measures. Those surveyed typically include members of academia and the business community. These types of rankings include Quacquarelli Symonds's World University Ranking, The Times Higher Education World University Ranking, and the U.S. News & World Report's Best Global University Ranking.
The following table includes Canadian universities, and their most recent global rank in the aforementioned publications (with national ranks in parentheses): University2026 QS World University Ranking2026 Times Higher Education World University Ranking2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University RankingUniversity of Alberta94 (4)119 (5)156 (5)University of British Columbia40 (3)45 (3)41 (2)Brock University1201–1400 (28–30)1201-1500 (30-33)1637 (31)University of Calgary211 (10)200 (9)204 (8)Carleton University781-790 (25)501-600 (19-23)616 (20)Concordia University465 (16)601–800 (24–26)755 (22)Dalhousie University283 (12)351–400 (14–15)385 (11)University of Guelph504 (18)401-500 (16-18)556 (18)Université Laval469 (17)401-500 (16-18)451 (16)Lakehead University1001-1200 (29)1372 (29)Laurentian University1759 (32)University of Lethbridge1501+ (34)2026 (36)University of Manitoba643 (21)501-600 (19-23)440 (15)McGill University27 (1)41 (2)62 (3)McMaster University173 (8)116 (4)146 (4)Memorial University of Newfoundland660 (22)501-600 (19-23)696 (21)Université de Montréal168 (7)150 (6)192 (6)University of New Brunswick622 (20)601–800 (24–26)919 (24)University of Northern British Columbia1201-1500 (30-33)Ontario Tech University801-1000 (27–28)1121 (T-27)University of Ottawa219 (11)187 (8)256 (9)Université du Québec851-900 (26)501-600 (19-23)Queen's University at Kingston191 (9)301-350 (11–13)416 (13)University of Regina1001–1200 (28–30)801-1000 (27–28)979 (25)University of Saskatchewan378 (15)351-400 (14-15)568 (19)Université de Sherbrooke901-950 (27)789 (24)Simon Fraser University308 (13)301-350 (11–13)424 (14)University of Toronto29 (2)21 (1)16 (1)Toronto Metropolitan University711-720 (24)601–800 (24–26)1041 (26)Trent University1979 (35)University of Victoria358 (14)301–350 (11–13)394 (12)University of Waterloo119 (5)162 (7)197 (7)Western University151 (6)201–250 (10)314 (10)Wilfrid Laurier University1201-1500 (30-33)1507 (30)University of Windsor546 (19)501-600 (19-23)1125 (27)Vancouver Island University1001–1200 (28–30)York University333 (14)401-500 (16-18)514 (17)
Quantitative-based Several institutions and publications have created university rankings whose methodologies rely only on quantitative measures. These rankings use quantitative measures to assess the quality of an institution, such as bibliometrics, or through the number of awards and distinctions accrued by a university's faculty and/or alumni. Quantitative international rankings include the Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy; and the Center for World University Rankings.
Several institutions publish rankings that are primarily bibliometric, based on citation analysis. Biblometric rankings specifically evaluate the impact a university has on specialized journals and other academic publications. Bibliometrics is a field of statistics used to provide quantitative analysis of academic literature. Primarily bibliometric rankings include those; the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, published by the National Taiwan University; and University Ranking by Academic Performance, published by the Middle East Technical University.
The following table includes Canadian universities, and their most recent global rank in the aforementioned publications (with national ranks in parentheses): University2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities2025 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities2024–25 University Ranking by Academic Performance2025 Center for World University RankingsUniversity of Alberta101-150 (4-5)88 (4)92 (4)81 (4)University of British Columbia53 (2)33 (2)35 (2)48 (3)Brock University800-901 (25)1406 (32)University of Calgary151–200 (6–8)136 (7)135 (6)202 (8)Carleton University501–600 (18–19)651-700 (20–21)578 (20)558 (20)Concordia University601–700 (20–21)701–750 (22–23)589 (21)620 (22)Dalhousie University301–400 (11–15)346 (13)332 (12)353 (14)École de technologie supérieure1188 (30)Institut national de la recherche scientifique1023 (27)University of Guelph501–600 (18–19)501–600 (19–20)478 (17)515 (19)Lakehead University1101-1150 (29)1387 (31)Laurentian University2126 (41)1847 (38)Université Laval301–400 (11–15)291 (11)286 (11)305 (12)University of Lethbridge1931 (37)1749 (36)University of Manitoba301–400 (11–15)320 (12)341 (14)295 (11)McGill University76 (3)50 (3)60 (3)27 (2)McMaster University101-150 (4-5)124 (6)137 (7)186 (7)Memorial University of Newfoundland701–800 (22–24)701–750 (22–23)614 (22)671 (23)Polytechnique Montréal964 (26)Université de Montréal151–200 (6-8)116 (5)120 (5)124 (5)University of New Brunswick901-1000 (26-28)1051-1100 (28)1021 (27)1092 (29)Ontario Tech University901–1000 (25–26)951-1000 (25-26)2071 (39)1802 (37)University of Ottawa201–300 (9–10)144 (8)158 (8)212 (10)Université du Québec à Montréal701–800 (22–24)951-1000 (24)735 (24)680 (24)Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières1669 (35)1717 (34)Queen's University at Kingston201–300 (9–10)374 (15)334 (13)333 (13)University of Regina901-1000 (26-28)1001-1050 (27)1116 (29)1137 (29)Saint Mary's University1887 (39)University of Saskatchewan401–500 (16–17)474 (16)373 (15)418 (16)University of Winnipeg1975 (40)Université de Sherbrooke701–800 (22–24)651-700 (20–21)652 (23)601 (21)Simon Fraser University401–500 (16–17)498 (18)473 (16)371 (15)University of Toronto25 (1)4 (1)3 (1)23 (1)Toronto Metropolitan University901–1000 (25–26)951-1000 (25-26)773 (25)850 (25)Trent University1971 (38)1723 (35)University of Victoria301–400 (11–15)483 (17)488 (18)439 (17)University of Waterloo151–200 (6–8)207 (10)179 (9)211 (9)University of Windsor901-1000 (26-28)1065 (28)1019 (26)Western University301–400 (11–15)199 (9)203 (10)185 (6)Wilfrid Laurier University1497 (34)1291 (30)York University601–700 (20–21)551-600 (19-20)531 (19)490 (18)
Other metrics Webometrics Ranking of World Universities is biannual university ranking produced by Cybermetrics Lab. The webometrics rankings use link analysis in an effort to evaluate the institution's overall web presence, and accessibility.
National rankings Opinion-based A number of Canadian-based publications have ranked universities in Canada. The most prominent of which is Maclean's, a Toronto-based news magazine that has published an annual rankings of Canadian universities since 1991. In addition to the Maclean's ranking, there are other Canadian-based publications that also rank Canadian universities. In 2012, the Toronto-based Higher Education Strategy Associates published a study ranking Canadian Universities based on research strength. The study ranks Canadian Universities in two broad fields: Science and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities.
A number of nationally based organizations have also crafted ranking using input from students and alumni. In 2014, the Toronto-based CampusRanking.ca began publication of its annual Canadian University and College Rankings, focusing on undergraduate education. The student-generated rankings asked over 40,000 undergraduate students and alumni to rate their schools. The survey was done across 135 schools in Canada. This data was used to develop a school matching quiz, MatchU, where students are matched to schools based on their personality type and school preferences. In February 2017, University Magazine, based in Windsor and Edmonton, started publishing its list of Top 10 universities in Canada. University Magazine surveyed undergraduate and graduate students at 96 Canadian universities, using this information to rank the universities
Maclean's Maclean's publishes an annual ranking of Canadian universities, intended to measure a university's overall "undergraduate experience". Universities are split into three categories: medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate. Maclean's evaluates post-secondary institutions on a number of performance factors, such as awards collected, resources, reputation, as well as student satisfaction surveys.
University of Windsor professor and co-author of The Marketing of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now 24 Years Old Stewart Page, had observed, in 2012, that numerous Canadian schools had withdrawn active cooperation from Maclean’s annual surveys.Page, Stewart "Final Observations of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now Over Two Decades Long" Academics Matter, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, November 20, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 20234.
In addition to the medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate university categories, the magazine also produces rankings for that focus on grants awarded in groups of academic fields. The Maclean's ranking of "medical/doctoral universities" includes universities that are heavily research-based, and have a broad range of graduate-level programs. Universities placed within Maclean's comprehensive rankings includes universities with a significant degree of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Universities placed in their primarily undergraduate rankings features universities that are smaller in size and offer fewer graduate programs than universities found in other categories.
2023 Medical/Doctoral universities rankings RankUniversity 1 McGill University 2 University of Toronto 3University of British Columbia 4 McMaster University 5 University of Alberta 6 University of Ottawa 7 Dalhousie University 8 Queen's University at Kingston 9 University of Calgary 10 Université de Montréal =11 Université Laval =11 Western University =13 University of Saskatchewan =13 University of Manitoba 15 Université de Sherbrooke