Canada's university rankings are slipping — Here's where McGill landed

McGill University has kept its global prestige intact — but many of Canada's top schools can't say the same.

In the newly released 2025 Global 2000 university rankings by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), McGill held steady at 27th place worldwide, maintaining a score of 87.2.

That makes the Montreal institution the second-highest ranked university in Canada, behind the University of Toronto (23rd). The University of British Columbia also improved slightly, moving up four spots to 48th.

But the bigger story is Canada's overall drop in rankings.

The CWUR assessed over 2,000 schools on factors like academic success, the employability of graduates, faculty members with academic distinctions, and the quality of research. And of the 38 Canadian universities featured on the international list, 28 fell in the rankings compared to last year.

That includes Université de Montréal (down to 124th), McMaster University (down to 186th), and the University of Calgary (down to 202nd). According to CWUR, the main reason is declining research performance in the face of global competition — especially from countries heavily investing in education and innovation.

CWUR's president called the national trend "alarming," warning that without stronger government backing, Canada risks falling further behind.

McGill’s resilience in the top 30 puts it just behind the University of Washington and Kyoto University, and ahead of schools like Imperial College London and the University of Melbourne.

Here are the top 10 post-secondary schools in Canada on the new world's best universities ranking:

1. University of Toronto — 23rd overall, no change from last year
2. McGill University — 27th overall, no change from last year
3. University of British Columbia — 48th overall, up from last year
4. University of Alberta — 81st overall, no change from last year
5. Université de Montréal— 124th overall, down from last year
6. Western University — 185th overall, up from last year
7. McMaster University — 186th overall, down from last year
8. University of Calgary — 202nd overall, down from last year
9. University of Waterloo — 211th overall, down from last year
10. University of Ottawa — 220th overall, down from last year

You can see the full 2025 list at CWUR.org.

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