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University Directory · North America

Top 25 universities in Canada

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Canada, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1
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    University of Toronto

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    • 580,294 research works
    • 67.3 million citations
    • h-index 1,916
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  2. 2
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    University of British Columbia (UBC)

    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    • 383,618 research works
    • 35.4 million citations
    • h-index 1,428
    In WAC News: BetterUp Canada launches multi-year coaching study for Ontario first respondersView full profile
  3. 3

    McGill University

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    • 303,952 research works
    • 31.7 million citations
    • h-index 1,369
  4. 4

    University of Alberta

    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    • 266,975 research works
    • 23 million citations
    • h-index 1,170
  5. 5

    McMaster University

    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    • 185,836 research works
    • 21.8 million citations
    • h-index 1,332
  6. 6

    Université de Montréal (UdeM)

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    • 191,372 research works
    • 17.1 million citations
    • h-index 1,017
  7. 7

    University of Calgary (UoC)

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    • 198,585 research works
    • 16.1 million citations
    • h-index 1,026
  8. 8

    Western University (UWO)

    London, Ontario, Canada

    • 174,298 research works
    • 13.5 million citations
    • h-index 897
  9. 9

    University of Ottawa

    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    • 167,451 research works
    • 13.4 million citations
    • h-index 907
  10. 10

    Université Laval

    Québec, Quebec, Canada

    • 135,540 research works
    • 10.4 million citations
    • h-index 822
  11. 11

    University of Waterloo (UW)

    Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    • 157,318 research works
    • 10 million citations
    • h-index 780
  12. 12

    Queen's University

    Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    • 122,062 research works
    • 8.7 million citations
    • h-index 788
  13. 13

    University of Manitoba

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    • 119,426 research works
    • 8.2 million citations
    • h-index 664
  14. 14

    Dalhousie University

    Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    • 107,772 research works
    • 7.9 million citations
    • h-index 774
  15. 15

    University of Guelph

    Guelph, Canada

    • 93,204 research works
    • 6.3 million citations
    • h-index 587
  16. 16

    Simon Fraser University (SFU)

    Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    • 87,205 research works
    • 6.3 million citations
    • h-index 656
  17. 17

    University of Victoria

    Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    • 74,121 research works
    • 6 million citations
    • h-index 649
  18. 18

    University of Saskatchewan (USASK)

    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    • 95,324 research works
    • 5.8 million citations
    • h-index 573
  19. 19

    Carleton University

    Ottawa, Canada

    • 77,224 research works
    • 4.6 million citations
    • h-index 545
  20. 20

    York University

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    • 90,960 research works
    • 4.3 million citations
    • h-index 552
  21. 21

    Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS)

    Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

    • 58,818 research works
    • 3.8 million citations
    • h-index 497
  22. 22

    Concordia University

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    • 76,788 research works
    • 3.5 million citations
    • h-index 502
  23. 23

    Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN)

    St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    • 58,324 research works
    • 2.9 million citations
    • h-index 477
  24. 24

    Polytechnique Montréal

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    • 38,302 research works
    • 2.1 million citations
    • h-index 401
  25. 25

    Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (ILD)

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    • 10,144 research works
    • 1.7 million citations
    • h-index 424

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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