See the Top 10 Universities in Canada

Canadian schools with top-notch research

Given the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on travel, including border closures and embassy shutdowns, the number of study permits issued in Canada decreased by 11% — from 400,740 in 2019 to 355,750 in 2020, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data. But that number has since rebounded to 444,700 issued study permits in 2021, well above pre-pandemic numbers. With many universities in Canada for international students to choose from, here are the top 10 as ranked by U.S. News based on academic research performance and reputation.

10. Western University (University of Western Ontario)

Location: London, Ontario

Best Global Universities overall rank: 300

Fact: Western University was founded in 1878 and offers more than 400 undergraduate majors, minors and specializations. The university has four research institutes: The Bone and Joint Institute, Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Institute for Earth and Space Exploration and the Western Institute for Neuroscience. The school’s website boasts a 93.7% employment rate two years after graduation.

9. University of Ottawa

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Best Global Universities overall rank: 215

Fact: The University of Ottawa claims to be the largest bilingual English-French university in the world, offering studies in both languages. In addition to its 550 undergraduate and graduate programs, the university also offers co-op and French immersion opportunities with some programs.

8. University of Waterloo

Location: Waterloo, Ontario

Best Global Universities overall rank: 191

Fact: The University of Waterloo, founded in 1957, has the largest postsecondary co-op program of its kind in North America, according to its website. The program allows students to get paid between $8,400 and $19,800 per work term in Canada for work experience as part of their studies in a variety of subjects like business, engineering and science, health care and education.

7. University of Calgary

Location: Calgary, Alberta

Best Global Universities overall rank: 175

Fact: The University of Calgary was founded in 1966 and has five campuses — four in metro Calgary, Alberta, and one in Doha, Qatar — with more than 250 academic programs. The university’s main campus spans nearly 500 acres, making it larger than Calgary’s entire downtown area, according to the university’s website.

6. University of Montreal

Location: Montréal, Québec

Best Global Universities overall rank: 156

Fact: The University of Montreal was founded in 1878, and the primary language of instruction is French. The university enrolls nearly 70,000 students, including affiliated colleges. There are eight campuses in locations like Laval, Longueuil and Saint-Hyacinthe, with one recently opened in Brossard.

5. McMaster University

Location: Hamilton, Ontario

Best Global Universities overall rank: 138

Fact: McMaster University was founded in 1887 in Toronto, but the university was relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, in 1930. The university boasts more than 70 research institutes and centers and is the only North American host site of a United Nations University — the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, which focuses on addressing global water issues.

4. University of Alberta

Location: Edmonton, Alberta

Best Global Universities overall rank: 136

Fact: The University of Alberta is one of the largest universities in Canada, with five main campus locations — one in Camrose and four in Edmonton — and five research stations. According to the school, it has graduated more than 75 Rhodes scholars, a prestigious postgraduate scholarship that covers the cost of studying at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

3. McGill University

Location: Montréal, Québec

Best Global Universities overall rank: 54

Fact: McGill University was founded in 1821, making it Montreal’s oldest university, according to the school’s website. Nearly 12,000 students in 2021-2022 were international — coming from more than 150 countries — making McGill Canada’s most international medical-doctoral research university, per the school’s website. One notable alum, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, graduated in 1994.

2. University of British Columbia

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Best Global Universities overall rank: 35

Fact: The University of British Columbia has two main campuses — the larger in Vancouver, British Columbia — that serve more than 65,000 students from more than 140 countries. According to the school’s website, the university is associated with eight Nobel Prize winners across the fields of chemistry, economic sciences, physics, and physiology or medicine.

1. University of Toronto

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Best Global Universities overall rank: 18

Fact: The University of Toronto in Ontario, founded in 1827, offers more than 700 undergraduate programs and more than 300 graduate programs across three campuses: St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough. The university is home to one of the biggest library systems in North America, according to the school, with 40 libraries across the three campuses.

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Best Canadian universities

1. University of Toronto

2. University of British Columbia

3. McGill University

4. University of Alberta

5. McMaster University

6. University of Montreal

7. University of Calgary

8. University of Waterloo

9. University of Ottawa