This best universities in the world ranking says U of T has competition as Canada's top school
The big three are battling it out!
University of Toronto sign. Right: McGill University building.
There is a new ranking of the best universities in the world for 2026.
It revealed that the University of Toronto has competition as Canada's top post-secondary school.
Recently, global higher education experts Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) announced that the 2026 edition of the World University Rankings by Subject is out now.
QS compared more than 21,000 academic offerings from over 1,900 post-secondary institutions around the world.
There are overall rankings for five main faculty areas (arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences and management) and specific rankings for 55 subjects.
A lot of Canadian universities are included in this ranking, but the big three — University of Toronto, University of British Columbia and McGill — are battling it out at the top.
Even though the University of Toronto is the highest-ranking Canadian school in all five faculty areas, it's not the only top-performing university in Canada on this ranking.
QS revealed that the University of British Columbia has the most entries globally in the subject rankings.
Also, McGill has the highest rank of any Canadian university in a specific subject.
It's second in the mineral and mining engineering subject on the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Here are the top three Canadian universities in each faculty area of this new ranking:
- arts and humanities — University of Toronto is 14th, University of British Columbia is 23rd, and McGill is tied for 35th
- engineering and technology — University of Toronto is 17th, University of British Columbia is tied for 29th, and University of Waterloo is tied for 38th
- life sciences and medicine — University of Toronto is 12th, University of British Columbia is 25th, and McGill is tied for 28th
- natural sciences — University of Toronto is tied for 16th, University of British Columbia is tied for 22nd, and McGill is tied for 39th
- social sciences and management — University of Toronto is tied for 15th, University of British Columbia is 18th, and McGill is tied for 32nd
READ NEXT: U of T is the only Canadian school in the top 10 of this new best universities ranking
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.