A recent analysis ranks Canada high in a list of 100 countries when it comes to research and higher education – but not as high as the United States.
The 2026 report by MeasuresHE, a company specializing in data for educational institutions, puts Canada in fifth place, with an overall score of 87.8. The country ranks behind the U.K., the Netherlands, the U.S. and Sweden.
Canada’s top categories
Canadian post-secondary institutions earned their highest marks in the categories of academic integrity (100), and global standing (94.8). Their overall score was brought down by lower marks in openness (77.3) and sustainability (84).
Canada scored higher than its neighbour to the south in research, international integration and academic integrity, while U.S. schools got higher marks for sustainability, openness, global standing, and demographics and investment.
MeasuresHE says the analysis of global universities and colleges was based on research published in the last five years, which was evaluated based on amount, recognition, and transparency of data.
How the results were calculated
The research category, which was weighted most heavily of the seven pillars involved in the ranking, “measures the quality and leadership of a country’s research output,” those behind the list said. Canada scored 89.4 in research.
Openness – the category in which Canada received its lowest marks – involved how research results translated into real-world application. Sustainability scores were guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which include categories such as climate action and clean energy.
Academic integrity involved a look at retractions, how often researchers cited themselves, and other ethics-based measures. Demographics and investment related to how countries financially prioritize higher learning, and also looked at enrolment rates and teaching capacity. Canada was tied for first in integrity, and scored 75.2 in demographics and investment.
Global standing focused on the top two universities in each country, according to a couple of global rankings. The Times Higher Education listed the University of Toronto and McGill University as Canada’s top schools in 2026. The two held the top spots on the QS Top Universities ranking as well, though in reverse order.
The final category, international integration, “quantifies a nation’s ability to attract global talent and engage in cross-border knowledge creation,” MeasuresHE said.
U.S. academics eye Canada
The rankings were published at a time when some U.S. academics are weighing moves to Canada, even if it means taking a pay cut.
The biggest benefit of a move to Canada is “academic freedom,” according to a researcher who made the move and spoke to The Canadian Press last month.
Jason Stanley told CP it’s “the only reason,” because salaries are lower and the move often means more work.
“What Canada can do is offer freedom of speech, academic freedom and democracy,” he said.
CP reported that the president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities is seeing increasing numbers of professors feeling political pressures from different levels of government to change their curricula. The president of Universities Canada told CP that Canada’s Impact+ Research Chairs program is also expected to lure academics from elsewhere to Canada.
The Impact+ recruitment program was designed to entice top international researchers to move their work to Canada through funding, scholarships and partnerships with established Canadian research agencies.
Research areas targeted by the program, as listed by the federal economic development ministry, are: digital technology, health, clean technology, environment and climate resilience, food and water security, democratic and community resilience, manufacturing and materials, and defence and dual-use technologies.
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