Top 5 Engineering Universities in Canada (2022)

Building on the framework used in this post we’ll be looking at the top five universities in Canada this time. We’ll focus on how these universities stack up when it comes to their engineering programs, and again the ultimate measure is the level of jobs that are available to the median graduate.

1. University of Waterloo

University of Waterloo Main Campus

The University of Waterloo stands out as number one on this list for a couple of reasons:

·         International Reputation – Like it or not few people outside of Canada could list more than three universities from Canada, and probably not more than four cities. Waterloo is one of the very few universities that is well-known in American business circles, and especially Silicon Valley. Graduates are well-known for their engineering abilities and sought after by some of the biggest tech firms.

·         Co-op Program – Waterloo implemented a mandatory co-op program for all of its engineering students very early on and it’s paid off. As many have pointed out experience is far more important than getting perfect grades since its an easy way for employers to skip straight to the qualified students and find someone who they know can perform. This not only made Waterloo students much more attractive, but cemented Waterloo as a University of choice for employers.

University of Waterloo doesn’t really have much in the way of social activities or school spirit, but this is more than made up for by their academic reputation and ease of getting a job post-graduation.

2. University of Toronto

University College building at the University of Toronto

Canada’s largest university has cemented its position on the international stage by not only pumping out lots of grads but pumping out a ton of research. It’s a research powerhouse and is extremely well funded as a result of this. The university has multiple campuses, and the main campus is scattered around downtown Toronto.

·         Research – UofT has been very research focused for decades now and pumps out a lot of the country’s hardest-hitting research. It’s not purely a game of quantity here, a lot of the research is high impact and Toronto has reached the critical mass needed population wise to attract and keep top academic talent.

As Canada’s largest city many of the students at UofT are from Toronto and commute from their parents. If you are from out of town expect to pay sky-high rents and a long commute. One benefit of Toronto is that as the largest city in the country you have access to plenty of entertainment options outside of university.

3. University of British Columbia

Main Campus of UBC

The second largest city in Canada has put in a huge amount of work developing not only it’s research endeavors, but its international reputation. It’s no secret that UBC is famous as a hotspot for international students.

·         International Reputation – Truly “International” this time around (i.e., not US centric). A lot of China/Korea/Japan/Vietnam/Thailand/India/Singapore’s elite have received an education at UBC, and Vancouver in general enjoys a good reputation oversees. If you have these countries as your background and speak the language it can be an easy in. It can be highly lucrative to take your Western education and start a business either back home or importing goods to the West.

·         Research – Much like UofT the University of British Columbia has been very focused on high quality academic research. The university has a very strong reputation in the fields of environmental engineering, environmental sciences, mining engineering, and tech.

As with UofT you’ll be stuck with sky-high rental prices when trying to find a place to live, although Vancouver has the edge over Toronto when it comes to the non-university aspects. I will point out that the university is actually a little out of the way, but there are plans to eventually extend the skytrain system out to UBC. Make sure to stay at least for the summer as that’s the best time of year in Vancouver. You have plenty of great options for entertainment here, many of which require just a tank of gas. Loads of hiking, skiing, and beach opportunities.

4. McGill University

McGill in downtown Montreal

Quebec’s only English-speaking university. It’s one of the oldest universities in Canada and when Montreal was a larger center of power it enjoyed a great deal of influence. These days McGill has a excellent reputation within Canada and abroad, most noticeably in other English-speaking countries as “the Harvard of the North”. This might not be quite accurate, but McGill is still obviously here in the top 5! The university has an excellent reputation for research and is well regarded for not just the engineering department but also it’s liberal arts. It has produced scores of Nobel laureates, politicians, and billionaires and has the largest number of PhD students for any university in Canada.

·         Montreal is much more affordable than either Toronto or Vancouver

·         French is not required to get by in Montreal. It would be a good idea to learn some and be able to explore, but you’ll be able to get by in Montreal without it. This is less true when you leave Montreal for smaller towns in Quebec.

·         Plugged into political opportunities

·         Huge number of PhDs, and a long history of Nobel laureates

Thanks to it’s affordability Montreal ranks the highest for culture marks out of any spot on the list. There’s plenty of things to do outside of university, and the city has an excellent public transit system to help you get around.

5. Queen’s University

Ontario Hall

Probably my personal bias putting this here at #5. You could certainly swap out Queen’s with any other “Ivy-League” type school in the Laurentian like Western or McMaster, but I decided to stick with Queen’s because of its more recent high profile research acumen and strong engineering program.

All three of these universities are fairly equal across the board, although Western focuses a bit more on its Ivey School of Business, and McMaster has a strong focus on medical research, metallurgy, and nuclear engineering. Queen’s has a very strong business program in the Smith School of Business, and an excellent MBA program to boot if you’re looking to go down that route. Out of all the universities in Ontario, Queen’s has the strongest ties to Calgary’s Oil & Gas Sector so picking Queen’s can give you a leg up if that’s your interest.

Queen’s and Western are both in smaller cities about 2 hours from Toronto, but Kingston is frankly, a nicer city than London and on the lake. You’re closer to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City if you decide to travel, and the city has a larger student population thanks to RMC and St. Lawrence College. McMaster in Hamilton is far enough away from Toronto to make the commute from Toronto absolutely awful, but close enough to make you reconsider making the move.