Education

Canada’s Best Universities by Operating Budget: Rankings 2023

This measure looks at the money available at each school for current expenses compared to the size of the student body

Maclean's October 6, 2022

Woman in a recording room looking at a computer with hands on a keyboard

(Photo courtesy of Jesse Milns/Toronto Metropolitan University)

These figures show university operating expenditures per full-time-equivalent student. Students are weighted according to their level of study—bachelor, master’s or doctorate—and their program of study.

Medical Doctoral

Rank	University	Amount ($)
1	UBC	18,433
2	Saskatchewan	15,839
3	Alberta	15,497
4	Toronto	14,279
5	Calgary	14,195
6	Dalhousie	14,068
7	Manitoba	13,193
8	Queen's	13,102
9	McGill	12,580
10	McMaster	12,434
11	Ottawa	12,427
12	Western	12,234
13	Montréal	10,958
14	Sherbrooke	10,366
15	Laval	9,589

Comprehensive

Rank	University	Amount ($)
1	Simon Fraser	16,466
2	Memorial	15,602
3	New Brunswick	15,275
4	Victoria	13,848
5	York	13,309
6	Toronto Metropolitan	13,048
7	Wilfrid Laurier	13,008
8	Waterloo	11,961
9	Regina	11,867
10	Brock	11,450
11	Windsor	11,011
12	Guelph	10,827
13	Carleton	10,747
14	UQAM	10,530
15	Concordia	10,048

Primarily Undergraduate

Rank	University	Amount ($)
1	Mount Allison	18,499
2	St. Thomas	17,594
3	UNBC	17,449
4	Moncton	16,573
5	Laurentian	16,481
6	UPEI	15,543
7	St. Francis Xavier	14,724
8	Saint Mary's	14,412
9	Bishop's	13,867
10	Acadia	13,539
11	Mount Saint Vincent	13,160
12	Lakehead	13,139
13	Brandon	12,578
14	Nipissing	12,538
15	Lethbridge	12,460
16	Trent	10,759
17	Winnipeg	10,735
18	Cape Breton	8,841
19	Ontario Tech	8,412

Canada’s Best Universities by Operating Budget: Rankings 2023

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