Canada’s top universities are McGill University, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia according to the QS rankings for 2025. These universities attract international students wishing to move to Canada for higher education because of their exceptional academic and research programs.
Three Canadian colleges have landed in the esteemed top 40 of the 2025 QS World University Rankings for the second year in a row. Leading authority on study of higher education worldwide, QS, highlights that its rankings are the only ones that assess sustainability and employability simultaneously. The significance of these indicators in assessing universities around the globe is emphasized by QS. Explore Canada’s top three universities in the 2025 QS rankings.
Canada’s Top Universities in QS World University Rankings 2025 Revealed
In anticipation of 2025, QS has determined which three universities will top the 2025 World University Rankings. Interestingly, the three most populated provinces in Canada—also popular with immigrants—are home to these institutions.
It’s interesting to note that all 10 of Canada’s best universities for 2025—according to QS—are located in Ontario, British Columbia, or Quebec, with the exception of the University of Alberta. Later in this post, you may get more information about these highly regarded Canadian universities.
The University of Toronto
With an overall score of 84.1, University of Toronto is ranked 25th overall. It performs as follows in a variety of factors:
- Academic Reputation: The university scores exceptionally high at 99.7.
- Faculty/Student Ratio: This factor stands at 44.9, reflecting the balance between faculty members and students.
- Citations per Faculty: Each faculty member averages 50.8 citations, indicating the impact of research output.
- Employer Reputation: The university’s reputation among employers is strong at 96.9.
- International Faculty/Student Ratio: The ratio is 96.9 for faculty and 96.1 for students, highlighting its international appeal.
- Sustainability: Achieving a perfect score of 100, indicating strong commitments and practices in sustainability.
- Employment Outcomes: The university demonstrates high success in employment outcomes with a score of 98.7.
- International Research Network: Its international research network is robust, scoring 97.7.
What You Should Know About the University of Toronto?
The University of Toronto (UofT) is still ranked as the top post-secondary university in Canada for the second year in a row. Despite coming in somewhat lower than it did in the QS World University Rankings last year—21st place.
Interestingly, UofT performed exceptionally well in QS’s evaluation of sustainability, taking the lead globally in this category. Furthermore, the university attained exceptional results, above 96.0, in a number of crucial areas, such as employment outcomes, employer reputation, international research network, and international faculty to student ratios. This confirms UofT’s position as one of the top colleges in the world.
It’s important to note that UofT has been frequently included in QS’ top 30 rankings, showing up five times in the previous six years. The one year it wasn’t was 2023, when UofT came in at number 34, a testament to its consistent and impressive achievement in higher education around the world.
Exploring the University of British Columbia
With an overall score of 81, the University of British Columbia (UBC) is ranked 38th overall. These are its results for different factors:
- Academic Reputation: UBC maintains a strong academic reputation with a score of 98.3.
- Faculty/Student Ratio: The university’s ratio of faculty to students is 34.5, indicating relatively smaller class sizes and more personalized attention.
- Citations per Faculty: Each faculty member averages 57.7 citations, highlighting the impact of UBC’s research output.
- Employer Reputation: UBC scores well in employer reputation with a rating of 94.3.
- International Faculty/Student Ratio: The ratio is 95.5 for faculty and 72.8 for students, showcasing its international appeal.
- Sustainability: UBC demonstrates strong commitment to sustainability, scoring 99.8.
- Employment Outcomes: The university’s score for employment outcomes is 74.6, indicating its effectiveness in preparing graduates for careers.
- International Research Network: UBC maintains a solid international research network, with a score of 96.2.
Key Insights into the University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) dropped from 34th place in the QS World University Rankings for 2024 to 38th place for 2025.
Moreover, in five of the eight criteria that QS evaluated, UBC achieved excellent scores—above 94.2—with notable achievements in academic reputation and sustainability. Notably, the university came in only behind UofT at number four in the world in QS’s sustainability category.
Even though UBC’s overall rating has somewhat decreased, these rankings demonstrate the university’s ongoing significance in important academic and sustainability indicators.
Canada’s Top 10 Universities – A Closer Look at the Leading Institutions
The top 10 post-secondary colleges in Canada for 2025 have been determined by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which has given special attention to universities that rank highly in both general and niche rankings of international student destinations.
The top three universities—University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Toronto (UofT), and McGill University—all finished in the top 40 of the QS World University Rankings. Furthermore, QS identifies these seven establishments as completing Canada’s top 10:
- The University of Alberta ranks 96th overall.
- The University of Waterloo holds the 115th spot globally.
- Western University is positioned at 120th in the world.
- Université de Montréal is ranked 159th overall.
- McMaster University holds the 176th place globally.
- The University of Ottawa ranks 189th overall.
- Queen’s University is placed 193rd in QS’ world rankings.
These rankings highlight the strength and diversity of Canadian higher education, with a range of institutions acknowledged for their academic excellence on a global scale as well as their ability to draw in international students looking for a top-notch education.
An Overview of Quacquarelli Symonds
Every year, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) publishes the World University Rankings, which rank the top universities worldwide according to eight criteria. Notably, after the publication of QS’s 2024 rankings, three of these factors were added.
The factors used to evaluate and rank these institutions are as follows:
- Academic Reputation
- Faculty/Student Ratio
- Citations per Faculty
- Employer Reputation
- International Faculty/Student Ratio
- Sustainability
- Employment Outcomes
- International Research Network
The Methodology Behind QS World University Rankings
Eight unique factors, each with a variable weighting to represent its relevance, are currently used by QS to rank universities in its World University Rankings. Academic reputation, which makes up 30% of the ranking, is the most important component. Thousands of people who work as instructors and researchers in higher education were surveyed to ascertain this. Furthermore, the citations per faculty metric, which accounts for 20% of the rating, assesses how frequently faculty-authored publications have received citations over the previous five years, indicating the academic writing credibility of the school.
Moreover, the 15% weighted measure of employer reputation is derived from surveys conducted among worldwide employers, who nominate up to 10 domestic and 30 foreign colleges as producing highly employable graduates. 10% of the total points are awarded to universities with low student-to-faculty ratios and small class sizes, which are thought to promote more individualized and collaborative learning environments.
10% of the rating is also derived from the international faculty/student ratio, which is split evenly between the international to domestic faculty and student ratios. The institutions first self-report these ratios, which are then, whenever possible, cross-checked against official government data.
Sustainability is a 5% weighted component that evaluates an institution’s evidence of sustainable practices and commitment to them. The university prepares its graduates for the workforce, as reflected in the employment outcomes, which are measured at 5%. Last but not least, the international research network, which makes up 5% of the total, assesses how successfully academic institutions establish and preserve research collaborations that result in globally co-authored papers. Additionally, it evaluates how well these institutions tackle global issues and communicate important research to wider audiences.