Maclean's magazine is back with its annual rankings of Canadian universities! While university rankings aren't the end of the story when you're thinking about the right school for you, they can be a good way to quickly assess where a school stands and what it values most.

This table covers schools that primarily offer undergraduate degrees — programs for students who have graduated high school, but haven't completed college or university yet. Schools on this list have relatively few graduate and professional-level programs. An undergraduate degree, like the ones offered by the schools on this list, is generally the first stop for students fresh out of high school!

Check out Maclean's methodology webpage for details on how these scores are calculated.

Maclean's top 5 undergraduate universities in Canada for 2026

Let's take a quick look at the top 5 undergrad schools; the complete top 20 list follows.

1. Mount Allison University

Another year, another #1 spot for Mount Allison! Mount Allison, in Sackville, New Brunswick, is a primarily undergraduate liberal arts and science university with approximately 2,100 full-time students. Students come from more than 50 countries around the world.

2. University of Northern British Columbia

UNBC keeps its #2 spot for another year. The University of Northern British Columbia is one of Canada's best small universities. UNBC's mission is to ignite, inspire, and lead change amongst their students through teaching and research.

3. Acadia University

Climbing to the #3 spot for 2026 is Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Acadia is one of the oldest and most respected liberal arts universities in Canada. Acadia's liberal arts curriculum helps their students with their future aspirations around travel, grad school, careers, and family.

4. St. Francis Xavier University

StFX, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, jumps an impressive 6 places to the #4 slot for 2026. At StFX, the focus is on the academic and personal development of every student, making community and social involvement a large part of the learning experience.

5. Saint Mary's University

Saint Mary's, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, rounds out our top 5. Founded in 1802, Saint Mary's strives on turning students into global citizens through a globalized curriculum and more than $4.2 million in scholarships to support student success.

Check out the full list below! Have fun exploring your options.

An * indicates a tie.

While university rankings can be good fun, they can't give you the full picture of a school. Don't let a list of rankings dissuade you from following your passions and choosing a school and program that speaks to you.

Since this list only included schools mainly focused on undergraduate education, you can also explore Maclean's other rankings to learn about more schools, like the best comprehensive universities for 2026, or the best universities based on scholarships and bursaries.