There’s a new ranking of the best universities in the world that includes so many Canadian schools.
But the University of Toronto is the only post-secondary school in Canada to make the top 50.
Recently, the 2026 edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities revealed the best post-secondary institutions for academics.
It’s based on six objective indicators, including the number of alumni and staff with Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, the number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate, the number of articles published in Nature and Science journals, and other criteria.
More than 2,500 universities are analyzed and ranked every year, but only the best 1,000 post-secondary schools make the final list.
Here is the top 10 of the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities:
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of Cambridge
- University of California, Berkeley
- Princeton University
- University of Oxford
- Columbia University
- University of Chicago
- California Institute of Technology
While no Canadian universities made the top 10 this year, 30 post-secondary schools in Canada are in the 2026 edition of this ranking.
University of Toronto is the highest-ranking Canadian post-secondary school on the Academic Ranking of World Universities list, taking the 24th spot overall.
Then, the University of British Columbia is 54th in the world, and McGill University is 73rd overall.
Most of the Canadian schools are further down on this new list of the best universities in the world.
McMaster University and the University of Alberta are in the 101st to 150th section of the ranking, and the University of Montreal and the University of Waterloo are in the 151st to 200th section.
Queen’s University, the University of Calgary, the University of Ottawa and Western University are ranked between 201st and 300th overall.
Then, Dalhousie University and the University of Victoria are between the 301st and 400th spots in the ranking.
Simon Fraser University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan are ranked between 401st and 500th. Carleton University, Laval University and York University are in the 501st to 600th section of the list.
After that, Concordia University and the University of Sherbrooke made the 601st to 700th section of the ranking.
Memorial University of Newfoundland and University of Guelph are ranked between 701st and 800th on this list, while Toronto Metropolitan University and University of Regina are ranked between 801st and 900th.
These universities in Canada are at the bottom of the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities:
- Brock University
- Lakehead University
- University of New Brunswick
- University of Quebec Montreal
- University of Windsor
This article’s cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.