Global university ranking puts four Canadian schools in top 0.4%
Several schools across Canada are once again among the best of the best, according to a new university ranking.
According to this year’s 2026 World University Rankings from the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), four universities in Canada are in the top 0.4 per cent of schools worldwide for higher education.
CWUR, an education consulting organization, ranked 21,291 institutions this year, with those at the top making the global 2,000 list. Universities are scored based on four main criteria: education, employability, faculty, and research.
This year, the University of Toronto retained its top spot in the country, ranking 23rd in the world for the fourth year in a row. However, other institutions have slipped in the rankings.
University of British Columbia placed 49th (down from 48th), while the University of Alberta also fell one spot from 82nd this year, down from 81st in 2025. McGill saw the biggest drop, falling five places from 23 in 2025 to 28 this year. Still, given that it ranks among the top 30 out of more than 21,000 universities worldwide, it remains an impressive result.
Here are the details on the four Canadian universities among the 100 best in the world:
University of Toronto
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2026 world rank: 23, top 0.2 per cent
2025 world rank: 23, top 0.2 per cent
National rank: One
Education rank: 196
Employability rank: 157
Faculty rank: 20
Research rank: Four
Score: 87.8
McGill University
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2026 world rank: 28, top 0.2 per cent
2025 world rank: 23, top 0.2 per cent
National rank: Two
Education rank: 28
Employability rank: 107
Faculty rank: 50
Research rank: 62
Score: 87
University of British Columbia
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2026 world rank: 49, top 0.3 per cent
2025 world rank: 48, top 0.3 per cent
National rank: Three
Education rank: 113
Employability rank: 490
Faculty rank: 56
Research rank: 36
Score: 84.8
University of Alberta
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2026 world rank: 82, top 0.4 per cent
2025 world rank: 81, top 0.4 per cent
National rank: Four
Education rank: 339
Employability rank: 524
Faculty rank: 70
Research rank: 88
Score: 82.8
Check out the full ranking of the top 2,000 universities in the world.