Choose a suitable course, of course, but in which university? While many in Canada are well placed in international rankings, three stand out clearly: the University of Toronto, in the economic and financial capital of the country; McGill, whose courses are taught in English, even though it is based in Montreal; and that of British Columbia.
According to the latest annual ranking (2022), published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which is authoritative with that of the magazine Times Higher Education, and another from Shanghai, with the University of Toronto ranked 26th and McGill 27th (the University of British Columbia being 46th). In that of Times, the Toronto institution takes 18th place, that of British Columbia, 37th, and McGill, 44th. Finally, Toronto comes 22nd in Shanghai’s 2021 rankings, British Columbia 42nd and McGill 67th.
Toronto’s Faculty of Engineering, 16th in the world
Should we look at the somewhat different methodologies of rankings? Without a doubt. On the rankings by faculty? Of course. But then again, McGill and the University of Toronto are both well placed, especially in the QS rankings, especially in environmental studies, architecture, law, linguistics or medicine, among others… The only difference, perhaps, is that the faculty of engineering in Toronto (industrial hub of the country, particularly for the automobile industry) is 16th in the world, when that of McGill is only 37th. In short, you will have to look elsewhere to decide! In the teacher-student ratio? McGill is in the lead. As for the citations of professors in academic publications, a sign of recognition from their peers, here too, McGill wins…
What else to be interested in? The quality of life there? Toronto, like Montreal, are two very dynamic metropolises from an economic and cultural point of view. Toronto boasts of being the most diverse city in the country, given the proportion of residents born outside of Canada, but Montreal has a strong case and McGill is successful in attracting more international students. And, to the question of which is the best city for students, Montreal comes 9th in the 2022 QS ranking (along with Boston) while Toronto is 13th… Obviously, there remains employability there too, everything depends on the diploma and, above all, the tuition fees! They are a little lower in Quebec, but vary greatly depending on the specialties studied…