Canada’s Best Primarily Undergraduate Universities for 2025
#1: Mount Allison University
Tuition: $11,447
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 69.8% | Science: 71.8% | Commerce: 70%
Mount Allison delivers a quality liberal arts and science education in picturesque Sackville, N.B. “Mount Allison offers a high-quality academic experience...
#2: University of Northern British Columbia
Tuition: $6,898
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65.2% | Science: 68.4% | Commerce: 58% | Engineering: 78.6%
Where else but at the University of Northern British Columbia can you study in a teaching and learning centre with a 360-degree panoramic view that stretches all the way to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains...
#3: Saint Mary’s University
Tuition: $9,230 ($10,513 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 70.5%
Saint Mary’s University keeps classes small, with an average of 40 students in an introductory course. Saint Mary’s also has a strong international community...
#4: Acadia University
Tuition:$10,182 ($11,465 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% · Science: 70% · Business: 70% · Engineering: 70%
More than a third of the students at Acadia University, located in the Annapolis Valley, live on campus, which translates to less time commuting...
#5: Lakehead University
Tuition: $7,384
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 70% | Engineering: 70%
Lakehead University offers a broad range of degree and diploma programs—including programs designed for Indigenous students—across nine faculties...
#6: Trent University
Tuition: $8,018 ($8,715 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-80% | Science: 70-85% | Commerce: 70-80% | Engineering: 80%
Born during the tumultuous ’60s, Trent University is a liberal arts and science school in the very best sense...
#7*: Ontario Tech University
Tuition: $8,371
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-73% | Science: 70-85% | Commerce: 73-75% | Engineering: 75-85%
Signs of innovation are everywhere at Ontario Tech University. The north Oshawa campus reflects the university’s emphasis on technology...
#7*: University of Prince Edward Island
Tuition: $8,017
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 71% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 72% | Engineering: 76%
The only university on Prince Edward Island, UPEI has nine faculties, including veterinary medicine...
#9: Bishop’s University
Tuition:$4,771 ($10,882 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 80%; R score 24 | Science: 80%; R score 24 | Commerce: 80%; R score 24
Founded when many of the area’s residents were anglophones, Bishop’s University offers an English-language, liberal education...
#10: St. Francis Xavier University
Tuition: $10,430 ($11,713 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70.2% | Science: 72.4% | Commerce: 71.6% | Engineering: 77.2%
Tucked away in the small town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, St. Francis Xavier caters mainly to undergraduates in arts, science, business and education...
#11: University of Lethbridge
Tuition: $8,051
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% | Science: 65% | Commerce: 65%
The University of Lethbridge’s University Hall is surrounded by green hills that make it look like a ship on an emerald ocean—fitting for a school that is always charting new territory...
#12*: Université de Moncton
Tuition: $8,916
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 74.4% | Science: 69.8% | Commerce: 70.1% | Engineering: 71.8%
The Université de Moncton might be small, but it punches above its weight. Graduates include the chief justice of the province, a former lieutenant governor...
#12*: St. Thomas University
Tuition: $9,334
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70%
St. Thomas University is an exclusively undergraduate liberal arts institution with an innovative curriculum that emphasizes cross-disciplinary learning and strong teaching...
#14*: Laurentian University
Tuition: $7,266 ($7,696 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 72% | Science: 72% | Commerce: 72% | Engineering: 75%
Laurentian University serves its region and beyond with strengths in stressed watershed systems, rural and northern health, particle astrophysics...
#14* University of Winnipeg
Tuition: $6,423
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 55.3% | Science: 53% | Commerce: 56.3%
The University of Winnipeg prides itself on its small class sizes and range of degree programs, which include everything from human rights to dance to neuroscience...
#16: Mount Saint Vincent University
Tuition: $9,111 ($10,394 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 66% | Science: 71.6% | Commerce: 73.8%
At a time when women could not vote, Mount Saint Vincent was the only institution in Canada dedicated to higher education for women. The Mount has been admitting men since the 1960s...
#17: Brandon University
Tuition: $5,801
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 57.8% | Science: 62% | Commerce or Business: 66.3%
A small school in a prairie city of about 50,000, Brandon University has a full complement of programs ranging from fine arts to business to pre-professional programs...
#18: Nipissing University
Tuition: $7,435 ($7,790 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-75% | Science: 70-83% | Commerce: 70%
Nipissing University is located in North Bay, on a wooded escarpment overlooking the shores of Lake Nipissing. The campus boasts hiking and snowshoeing trails...
#19: Cape Breton University
Tuition: $8,836 ($10,119 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% · Science: 65% · Commerce: 65% · Engineering: 65%
Students from more than 80 countries study at Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton University, which is dedicated to supporting local communities...
#20: Algoma University
Tuition: $6,855
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% | Science: 65-70% | Commerce: 70% | Engineering: 70%
Algoma University is an undergraduate-only institution, offering degrees in more than 30 programs, including environmental science, business...
*Indicates a tie
All photos courtesy of their respective universities, unless otherwise noted.
PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE RANKING 2025
| University | Rank | Last Year | Student Awards | Student/ Faculty Ratio | Faculty Awards | Social Sciences & Humanities Grants | Medical/ Science Grants | Total Research Dollars | Operating Budget | Library Expenses | Library Acquisitions | Scholarships & Bursaries | Student Services | Reputational Survey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 3 |
| Algoma | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Bishop's | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 11 |
| Brandon | 17 | 17 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 16 |
| Cape Breton | 19 | 20 | 19 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 18 |
| Lakehead | 5 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Laurentian | 14 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 17 | 15 |
| Lethbridge | 11 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 12 | 7 |
| Moncton | 12 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 14 |
| Mount Allison | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 14 | 4 |
| Mount Saint Vincent | 16 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 12 |
| Nipissing | 18 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 17 |
| Ontario Tech | 7 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 1 |
| Saint Mary's | 3 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
| St. Francis Xavier | 10 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 5 |
| St. Thomas | 12 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 19 | N/A | 20 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 19 |
| Trent | 6 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| UNBC | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 10 |
| UPEI | 7 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 8 |
| Winnipeg | 14 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 11 | 13 |
* Indicates a tie
