A new best universities ranking just dropped and Canada's big three aren't the top schools
This list is completely different than the global university rankings. 👀
University of Victoria campus. Right: Students at University of Waterloo.
A new ranking of the best universities in the country revealed which schools are the top places to get an education.
Canada's big three, which include the University of Toronto, aren't on the list.
Maclean's recently put out its 2026 Canadian university rankings based on performance indicators like student/faculty ratio, grants, scholarships and bursaries, student services, reputation, and more.
There are three rankings: the best "comprehensive" universities, the best universities for undergraduate studies and the best universities for PhD studies.
Maclean's said comprehensive universities have "a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional degrees," along with "significant" research activity.
Even though the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of British Columbia are usually Canada's top three schools in global university rankings, they didn't make this list.
These are the top five in the best comprehensive universities ranking for 2026:
- Simon Fraser University
- University of Victoria
- University of Waterloo
- Carleton University
- York University
After that, the University of Guelph, the University of New Brunswick, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Concordia University and Toronto Metropolitan University round out the top 10.
Here are the other Canadian universities that made this ranking:
- Université du Québec à Montréal — 11th
- Wilfrid Laurier University — 12th
- Brock University — 13th
- University of Regina — 14th
- University of Windsor — 15th
Ontario has the most universities in this ranking, with eight of the top 15 schools located in the province.
Then, there are two schools in B.C., two in Quebec, one in Saskatchewan, one in New Brunswick and one in Newfoundland.
Maclean's also included details about tuition costs for each school on the best comprehensive universities list.
The University of New Brunswick has the highest tuition for local students at $9,435 per year, while Université du Québec à Montréal has the lowest at $4,407 per year.
Both of the Quebec universities have the most expensive tuition for out-of-province students, ranging from $10,368 to $12,868 a year.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.