The Best Universities In Canada Were Ranked & These Schools Beat McGill

Maclean's ranked the best universities in Canada by reputation and a handful of Quebec schools made the list, but none of them managed to secure a top three spot, not even McGill University.

Maclean's, a Canadian news publication that covers topics about Canadian politics, popular culture, and current events, released its 2024 list of Canada's Best Universities by Reputation. Maclean's surveyed faculty, senior administrators and business leaders across Canada regarding their views on quality and innovation at Canadian unis to determine the list.

A total of three categories determined the ranking including overall quality, innovation and perceived "leaders of tomorrow." Montreal's esteemed McGill University landed in the fourth spot with Université de Montréal ranking ninth.

So, who managed to land at the top of the ranking? Well, the University of Toronto (UofT) was ranked as the best university in Canada for another year in a row. The University of British Columbia (UBC) ranked second overall, while the University of Waterloo ranked third.

McMaster University, Queen's University, The University of Alberta, The University of Calgary and Western University all rounded off the top 10.

A total of three other Quebec universities managed to make the top 20, with the Université de Laval ranking 13th overall, Montreal's Concordia University landing in 16th and the Université de Sherbrooke ranking 16th.

The Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM) also made the cut — ranking 25th.

50 Canadian schools were included in the Maclean's ranking and while UofT, UBC and McGill all managed to make the top five, some other institutions weren't as lucky.

The universities of Nipissing (46), Cape Breton (47), Laurentian (48), Brandon (49) and Algoma (50) all made up the last five of the ranking.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.