Canadian Universities

Canadian Universities

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), 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. In some cases, universities must be a member of AUCC to be able to grant university degrees. However, in other provinces membership is no guarantee of university status. Provincial and territorial governments provide the majority of funding to their public universities, with the remainder of funding coming from the federal government, tuition fees, and research grants.

There is significant variation between universities in the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuition fees, while universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding. Among G7 countries, Canada has the highest proportion of post-secondary education graduates in the workforce. It also has one of the highest percentage of university graduates in the workforce, with 22%. There are approximately 1.2 million university students in Canada based on the totals below.

Table symbols:

L – Language (not including language study programs) (E – English, F – French, B – English and French)

E – Established

U – Undergraduate enrolment

P – Postgraduate enrolment

T – Total enrolment