Times Higher Education Ranking 2026 Unveils Top Universities in Canada
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Times Higher Education (THE Rankings) has unveiled its 2026 rankings of top universities in Canada, highlighting their strong presence in global academia. The University of Toronto has once again topped the national chart, a position that it has held consistently since 2011, followed by McGill University, which has moved up to second place, surpassing the University of British Columbia.
THE University Rankings 2026 (National Ranks)
This year's Times Higher Education 2026 Canada University rankings include a total of 34 Canadian universities, with the top 10 positions remaining largely unchanged from 2025.
| National Rank | University |
|---|---|
| 1 | University of Toronto |
| 2 | McGill University |
| 3 | University of British Columbia |
| 4 | McMaster University |
| 5 | University of Alberta |
| 6 | Université de Montréal |
| 7 | University of Waterloo |
| 8 | University of Ottawa |
| 9 | University of Calgary |
| 10 | Western University |
| 11 | Queen’s University |
| 11 | Simon Fraser University |
| 11 | University of Victoria |
| 14 | Dalhousie University |
| 14 | University of Saskatchewan |
| 16 | Université Laval |
| 16 | University of Guelph |
| 16 | York University |
| 19 | Carleton University |
| 19 | Memorial University of Newfoundland |
| 19 | Université du Québec |
| 19 | University of Manitoba |
| 19 | University of Windsor |
| 24 | Concordia University |
| 24 | Toronto Metropolitan University |
| 24 | University of New Brunswick |
| 27 | Ontario Tech University |
| 27 | University of Regina |
| 29 | Lakehead University |
| 30 | Brock University |
| 30 | St Francis Xavier University |
| 30 | University of Northern British Columbia |
| 30 | Wilfrid Laurier University |
| 34 | University of Lethbridge |
Also Read: Canada’s IRCC Announces Which PR Applications It Will Process in 2025
THE Global Rankings 2026
Times Higher Education has also ranked the top global universities in 2026, with three Canadian universities making it to the top Hundred Best universities in the world and nine universities making it to the list of the top 200. The list of the top 10 universities, along with their performance metrics and overall scores, includes:
| World Rank 2026 | University | Teaching | Research Environment | Research Quality | Industry | International Outlook | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | University of Toronto | 78 | 92.9 | 92.3 | 95.8 | 92.3 | 88.5 |
| 41 | McGill University | 71 | 70.8 | 86.2 | 77.5 | 89.2 | 77.1 |
| 45 | University of British Columbia | 64 | 73.9 | 88.6 | 77.4 | 93.5 | 77 |
| 116 | McMaster University | 42 | 49.3 | 93.1 | 100 | 84.6 | 65 |
| 119 | University of Alberta | 49 | 55.4 | 78.1 | 100 | 88.4 | 64.6 |
| 150 | Université de Montréal | 41 | 50.5 | 83.1 | 95.5 | 84.1 | 61.9 |
| 162 | University of Waterloo | 42.7 | 47.6 | 83.4 | 77 | 85.5 | 60.9 |
| 187 | University of Ottawa | 38 | 44.5 | 85.4 | 81.7 | 86.2 | 59.5 |
| 200 | University of Calgary | 38 | 43.1 | 83.6 | 91.4 | 83.3 | 58.7 |
| 201–250 | Western University | 39.9 | 42.6 | 77.5 | 99.8 | 86.9 | 56.4–58.6 |
Also Read: Canada Overtakes US as Top Destination for International Students: Report
How Does Times Higher Education Rank Universities? (Methodology)
THE ranking assesses universities around the world across their core missions, which are built on five key pillars of evaluation, namely: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, International Outlook, and Industry Engagement.
These pillars are further made up of a series of 18 performance indicators, and every category is assigned a specific weighting, which contributes to a university's overall score out of 100.
| Category | Overall Weight | Performance Indicator | Indicator Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Teaching (The Learning Environment)
|
29.50%
|
Teaching reputation | 15% |
| Staff-to-student ratio | 4.50% | ||
| Doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio | 2% | ||
| Doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio | 5.50% | ||
| Institutional income | 2.50% | ||
|
Research Environment
|
29%
|
Research reputation | 18% |
| Research income | 5.50% | ||
| Research productivity | 5.50% | ||
|
Research Quality
|
30%
|
Citation impact | 15% |
| Research strength | 5% | ||
| Research excellence | 5% | ||
| Research influence | 5% | ||
|
International Outlook
|
7.50%
|
Proportion of international students | 2.50% |
| Proportion of international staff | 2.50% | ||
| International collaboration | 2.50% | ||
|
Industry
|
4%
|
Industry income | 2% |
| Patents | 2% |
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