List of universities in Canada

Universities Canada, an organisation composed of Canadian universities, defines two distinct types of post-secondary institutions in Canada: universities and colleges. Universities grant university degrees, which include bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees; and colleges, also known as community colleges, provide diplomas.^[1]

Canada's post-secondary opportunities revolve around a wide range of university options. Throughout Canada's 13 provinces and territories, there are 98 universities to choose from. With a population of over 34 million as of 2012,^[2] 1.8 million are enrolled in a specific university.^[3] This averages out to 18 thousand students per university. Programs are offered to graduating high school students through choice, however, students must maintain specific entering averages, which generally range from 65-85%, depending on criteria set by the chosen university. On campus residences are available at 95% of universities in Canada.^[4] Most include a meal plan and general utilities. Residence is optional at all post-secondary campuses.^{[citation needed]}

Degree programs last four years in addition to possible co-op opportunities and college affiliation for a hands-on approach to programs. Tuition is based on program material and content which varies in price. Generally, a first year student in an arts or science faculty will experience a broad range of courses while "program specific courses" begin in year two. Sometimes, admission to such a program may be based on internal university acceptance (i.e. a set grade point average must be achieved)

Universities by province

 Alberta :

Post-secondary education in Alberta is regulated by the Ministry of Advanced Education.^[5] There are six public universities in Alberta, eleven public colleges, two polytechnical institutes (which grant degrees), and seven private colleges (all of which grant degrees). Most private universities refer to themselves as "university colleges", and they grant equivalent degrees.^[5]

Edmonton, the province's capital city, is home to the University of Alberta, the province's oldest and largest university, and Grant MacEwan University. Edmonton is also home to The King's University, as well as the Concordia University of Edmonton (not to be confused with the Concordia University in Montreal). There are also two universities in Calgary: University of Calgary and Mount Royal University. The University of Lethbridge is based out of Lethbridge but also has campuses in Edmonton and Calgary. Athabasca University, a distance learning university, has been based out of Athabasca since 1970.

Established in 1907 in Leduc, the independent publicly funded Burman University in Lacombe is the oldest in Alberta. Formerly a university college, the Alberta Government gave them permission to change their status from "university college" to "university".

In 2009, a bill was passed by the Alberta legislature that allowed the two public colleges that offered degrees (MacEwan College in Edmonton and Mount Royal College in Calgary) to rename themselves universities.^[6] Mount Royal College was renamed Mount Royal University on September 3, 2009^[7] and Grant MacEwan College became Grant MacEwan University on September 24, 2009.^[8]

In the recent, T

he King's University and the Concordia University of Edmonton have been granted the ability to change their respective names from University-College to University.

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British Columbia:

There are eleven public universities and five private universities in British Columbia. Eight of these universities – Capilano University, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Trinity Western University, Simon Fraser University, the University Canada West and the University of British Columbia – are in the Metro Vancouver region, the most populated region of British Columbia (with the exception of the University of British Columbia Okanagan - the major UBC campus located in the Okanagan Valley), and three of them – Vancouver Island University, Royal Roads University and the University of Victoria – are on Vancouver Island. The University of Northern British Columbia houses a main campus in Prince George, with regional campuses in Quesnel, Terrace and Fort St. John. Three public universities, Capilano University, University of the Fraser Valley and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and one private university, Quest University Canada, are primarily undergraduate institutions.

The oldest university in the province is the University of British Columbia, established in 1908,^[9] with its newest major campus in Okanagan established in 2005. Five institutions in British Columbia were officially designated as universities on September 1, 2008:^[10] Capilano University, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the University of the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island University. University enrolment in British Columbia ranges from Quest University Canada with 700 students^[11] to the University of British Columbia with 45,484 students.

The biggest provider of online and distance education in BC is Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning. With over 400 individual courses and more than 57 programs available for completion by distance and online learning, students can take a variety of programs such as: adult secondary school completion; certificates and diplomas, including advanced and post-baccalaureate; associate degrees; and bachelor's degrees. Considering distance students, Thompson Rivers University's enrolment is 22,036 (8964 of which is distance).

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Manitoba

There are seven universities in Manitoba, which are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Literacy.^[12] Five of these universities—Booth University College, Canadian Mennonite University, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, and the Université de Saint-Boniface—are in Winnipeg, the capital and largest city in the province. The Université de Saint-Boniface, established in 1818, is the oldest university in the province and is the only French language university in western Canada. Booth University College, formed in 1982, is one of the newest. In northern Manitoba, the University College of the North serves the communities of The Pas and Thompson. Smaller satellite campuses serve 12 other smaller centers, 9 of which are on First Nations. University enrolment in Manitoba ranges from Booth University College with several hundred students to the University of Manitoba with 26,800 students. Brandon University is located in the Western-Manitoba city of Brandon, Manitoba.

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New Brunswick

There are eight chartered universities in New Brunswick; four public universities,^[13] governed by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour,^[14] and four private institutions including an online university, Yorkville University. New Brunswick holds the distinctions of having the first English-language university in Canada and the first public university in North America, (the University of New Brunswick);^[15] and also the first university in the British Empire to have award a bachelor's degree to a woman, (Mount Allison University) in 1875.^[16] St. Thomas University and University of New Brunswick have campuses in the province's capital of Fredericton and UNB also maintains a campus in Saint John. St. Thomas University is the only public university in the province that does not offer graduate-level programs. Established in 1785, the University of New Brunswick is the oldest public in the province, and the Université de Moncton is the newest, formed in 1963. Public university enrolment ranges from Mount Allison University with 2,486 students to the University of New Brunswick with 10,587 students. Of the three private universities, Crandall University is the largest with enrolment expected to reach 1,200.

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Newfoundland and Labrador

The Degree Granting Act of Newfoundland and Labrador regulates degree-granting universities in the province.^[17] The only university in Newfoundland and Labrador,^[13] Memorial University of Newfoundland, has campuses in two cities, in St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, and on the west coast of the province, in Corner Brook. With 18,172 enrolled students, it is the largest university in Atlantic Canada.

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Nova Scotia

There are 10 universities in Nova Scotia.^[19] Six of these – the Atlantic School of Theology, Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University, the NSCAD University, Saint Mary's University, and the University of King's College – are located in the Halifax Regional Municipality, which is the capital of Nova Scotia and the largest urban area in Atlantic Canada. The oldest university in the province is the University of King's College, established in 1789, and the newest is Cape Breton University, established in 1974. University student enrolment in Nova Scotia ranges from 125 students at the Atlantic School of Theology to more than 18,000 at Dalhousie University.
Several universities in Nova Scotia have strong religious connections. The University of King's College, originally founded in Windsor, was the first college to obtain university powers in British North America, at a time when Upper Canada had no government of its own. It has always remained under the control of the Church of England. Dalhousie University, originally known as Dalhousie College, was established in Halifax in 1820 with the help of the Presbyterian Church, and Acadia University was founded by Baptists. Catholics formed Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Saint Francis Xavier University.^[20]
Université Sainte-Anne, the tenth university, is located in Pointe-de-l'Église and instructs its academic courses in French.

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Ontario

There are 21 publicly funded universities in the Canadian province of Ontario that are post-secondary education institutions with degree-granting authority.^[21] Each of these institutions were either established through an Act of the Legislative Assembly or through a Royal Charter.^[22] With the exception of Royal Military College of Canada, students apply to public universities in Ontario through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre.
The University of Toronto was established in 1827 making it the oldest University in Ontario. The newest University in Ontario is Algoma University, which was established in 2008 after gaining independence from Laurentian University. The largest university in terms of enrolment is the University of Toronto, which has campuses in three locations.^[23] The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities is headquartered in Ottawa.

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Prince Edward Island

There is one university in Prince Edward Island that is authorized to grant degrees.^[13] Higher education in the province falls under the jurisdiction of the Higher Education and Corporate Services Branch within the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.^[24] The only university in the province, the University of Prince Edward Island, is in the province's capital of Charlottetown. The institution resulted from an amalgamation of Prince of Wales College, a former university college founded in 1834, and Saint Dunstan's University, founded in 1855.

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Quebec:

There are 18 universities in the largely French-speaking province of Quebec, 10 of which form the Université du Québec network.
In Québec, universities are independent from government and autonomous in managing their affairs. By means of legislation or constitutional charters, lawmakers have granted each university the freedom to define its own curriculum and develop its own teaching and research programs. The university has full responsibility for setting admission standards and enrolment requirements, awarding degrees and recruiting its personnel.
Of the eighteen universities, three are anglophone: Concordia University, McGill University and Bishop's University. The rest are francophone: five of them – École de technologie supérieure, École Polytechnique de Montréal, HEC Montréal, Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal – are located in Montreal, the most populated city in Quebec, and four of them – École nationale d'administration publique, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, TÉLUQ and Université Laval – are based in Quebec City, the province's capital. The Institut national de la recherche scientifique and École nationale d'administration publique do not offer undergraduate level programs.
The oldest university in the province is Université Laval, established in 1663. The most recent institutions are: Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (1983), Concordia University (1974), École de technologie supérieure (1974), Téluq (1972, merged with UQÀM in 2005, split in 2012). University enrolment in the province of Quebec ranges from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique with 480 students to the Université de Montréal with 55,540 students (but this figure actually includes HEC and Polytechnique, which are legally distinct universities).

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Saskatchewan

There are three universities in Saskatchewan.^[13] The Government of Saskatchewan must establish statutes individually to degree-granting universities; these statutes outline the authority of each institution, their regulations, and bylaws.^[26] The First Nations University of Canada and the University of Regina are both in Regina, the province's capital, and the University of Saskatchewan is in Saskatoon, the most populous city in Saskatchewan. The University of Saskatchewan is the oldest university in the province, founded in 1907, and the First Nations University of Canada is the newest, established in 1976. The University of Saskatchewan is also the largest university in Saskatchewan with 18,620 students, and the First Nations University of Canada (FNUC) is the smallest with 840 students. The First Nations University is the only Canadian university that caters to the needs of First Nations students. It was originally called the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, and once formed, it entered into a federated agreement with the University of Regina to create the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC). This Agreement allowed FNUC to become an independently administered university-college that served First Nations students.^[27] The First Nations University of Canada is the only university in the province that does not offer graduate-level programs.