
Canada is the educational hub of North America or, in fact, of the whole World. Hundreds and thousands of international students complete their degrees from the top-notch universities in Canada. Whether it is engineering, medical, art, sciences, or sociology, Canada has kept its prioritizing education. That’s why the Great White North has maintained its literacy rate of over 99 percent.
The number of college and university grads is increasing steadily in Canada, thanks to Canadian universities’ quality educational and research facilities. If you, as a student, want to make Canada your next home, make sure to practice the online Canadian citizenship test. Once passed along with successful completion of other formalities, you will become a permanent resident of the Great White North.
We have analyzed multiple institutions on various factors— considering top-ranked— and prepared a list of top-level universities in Canada. Let’s dive into them to determine what they are offering, and if there is any perfect suit for you.
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto ranks number one in Canada, offering about 700 undergraduate programs and nearly 200 master-level and doctoral programs. This university comprises three campuses located in or around Toronto. The academic year varies on all campuses. Toronto university offers high-class accommodations for all first-year students and optional housing for others.
Toronto University offers a wide range of programs, including engineering, public health, applied sciences, and management. The basic medium of communication is English. This university possesses forty-four libraries housing more than 19 million physical volumes. The world-famous diabetic relief drug named Insulin was first discovered in this institution in the early 1920s. This level of exceptional research facilities made it to the ranking of the top twenty universities in the world as per US News & World Report Ranking 2021.
McGill University
McGill University is one of the oldest educational institutions in Canada located in Quebec. It has two campuses: Macdonald Campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and the 20 miles always Downtown Campus located in Montreal. Due to the higher percentage of the French-speaking population in Quebec, a significant amount of McGill University’s students call it their mother language. Still, English is the official medium of teaching and communication.
This university receives tons of students from 150 countries globally. Currently, it is offering more than 300 programs in 13 disciplines— counted as arts, dentistry, engineering, law, education, management, agriculture, environmental sciences, medical, music, and science. Both campuses of the university offer quality accommodation facilities. The current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is a proud graduate of McGill University. This university provides a semester system and multiple affiliations with various health and medical schools and hospitals. The creation of the first artificial blood cell is the proud contribution of McGill University to the research world.
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is one of the best educational institutions in Canada. It consists of two campuses, namely the Okanagan campus and the Vancouver campus. Though both are main campuses, Vancouver’s one holds a maximum of its students. 85% of UBC students reside on the Vancouver campus. These both welcome international students to pursue their educational careers in the ratio of 23 % and 13 % for Vancouver and Okanagan, respectively. Both offer accommodation for all the first-year local as well as international students.
UBC has about 24 divisions in Vancouver while eight divisions in the Okanagan campus, which offer more than 300 programs. Both campuses have two terms annually. Winter and summer, out of which winter term is optional. The primary mode of communication is English. UBC has an advantage in that it offers additional three months of English learning opportunities for international students. It ranks at the 31st spot in the global ranking of universities issued by US News & World Report.
University of Montreal
The University of Montreal is a public institution that got independent status in 1919 after separating from Université Laval de Québec. The University of Montreal has affiliations with two schools: HEC Montréal, a business school, and Polytechnique Montréal, an engineering school. Quebec is one of Canada’s most densely populated areas— about 9 million people out of approximately 6.9 million are French-speaking.
Due to such a higher percentage of French-speaking Canadians, the official language of communication at the University of Montreal is also French. However, a few programs such as pharmacology, biochemistry, and neurosciences are also offered in English. Thus, international students from all over the globe are also invited to join programs. Main university and both affiliated schools offer full-academic program accommodation for all the students.
McMaster University
Its foundation was laid in 1877— whose main campus is located in the suburban neighborhood of Hamilton, Ontario, not much far from the USA border. Multiple other campuses are located in Niagara, Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo, and downtown Hamilton. It welcomes students from more than 75 countries of the world. McMaster University offers university housing with multiple theme options such as female community, global perspective community, and healthy active community.
The basic mode of communication is English. It has six academic divisions: medical, engineering, science, humanities, health sciences, social sciences, and business school. Undergrad program is semester-based with an optional facility of spring/summer term. Interestingly, one-fifth of Albert Einstein’s brain is kept in a jar for neuroscientist studies.
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta ranks among the top seven universities in Canada. It was founded in 1908 in the Alberta province of western Canada. The University of Alberta has five campuses, out of which four are located in the main city of Edmonton— North Campus, Saint-Jean Campus, Enterprise Square, South Campus— while the other one is located in Camrose— named Augustana Campus at one hour drive from Edmonton city.
The Augustana campus is famous for its studies on liberal arts sciences. Business, arts, engineering, and medical are the main disciplines offered by Alberta University. University housing facilities are available in Edmonton and Augustana Campuses for both grads and undergrads. It also has affiliations with the multidisciplinary national institute of Nanotechnology. The academic calendar accounts for winter and fall terms, while shorter but optional summer and spring terms are also available.
The Bottom Line
Canada has tons of other world’s renowned institutions such as the University of Calgary, Waterloo, Ottawa, and numerous others. All these institutions have opened their doors for both local and international students. Read more to find tips about choosing an institution for further education.
Do apply and Shine your Career with these top-notch Institutions.

