Top Ten Universities (Ontario, Canada)

September 28, 2011 by Saim

University

Ontario Universities – Top Tens List!

In Canada, the constitutional responsibility for universities rests with the provinces and territories. The decision to assign responsibility for universities to local legislatures was enacted as law in the British North America Act in 1867, later renamed the Constitution Act in 1982; it states: “in and for each Province, the Legislature may exclusively make laws in relation to Education.”^[1] As a result of this constitutional agreement, a distinctive system of higher education has evolved in each province.^[2] An exception to provincial level university structure is the arrangement for the aboriginal peoples in Canada. As the constitutional responsibility for Aboriginal Peoples with Treaty Status rests with the federal government of Canada under the Constitution Act of 1982, the federal government is largely responsible for funding higher education opportunities for Aboriginal learners.^[3]

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, anddoctoral degrees; and colleges, also known as community colleges, provide diplomas.^[4] In some cases, universities must be a member of AUCC to be able to grant university degrees.^[5] 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,^[6] tuition fees, and research grants.^[7] The primary variation between universities in the provinces is 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.^[7] Among G7 countries, Canada has the highest proportion of post-secondary educationgraduates in the workforce. It also has one of the highest percentage of university graduates in the workforce, with 22%.^[8] There are approximately 1.2 million university students in Canada based on the totals below.

There are 83 universities in Canada that are independent post-secondary education institutions with degree-granting authority.^{[citation needed]} Seven of these universities are in Montreal, Quebec, the most of any Canadian city. Since 2008, there are five recognized universities within Metro Vancouver. Six are in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Five of these universities have campuses in Toronto, Ontario, the most populous city in the country. Three universities are in Ottawa, the country’s capital city. The oldest university in Canada, Université Laval, was established in 1663. The Quest University is the smallest university in the country, with 80 students, and the University of Quebec system is the largest, with 87,000 students.

The Top Ten’s list of universities in Ontario is:

#10: Queen’s University

Queen’s University, (commonly referred as Queen’s), public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen’s holds more more than 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England. Queen’s is organized into ten undergraduate, graduate and professional faculties and schools.

The Church of Scotland established Queen’s College in 1841 with a royal charter from Queen Victoria. The first classes were held March 7, 1842 with 13 students and 2 professors. Queen’s was the first university west of the maritime provinces to admit women, and to form a student government. In 1883, a women’s college for medical education was established affiliated with Queen’s University. In 1888, Queen’s University began offering extension courses, becoming the first Canadian university to do so. In 1912, Queen’s was transformed into a secular school. It was also then that the college changed its name to its present legal name, Queen’s University at Kingston.

Queen’s is a coeducational university, with more than 23,000 students. Alumni and former students of the university can be found all across Canada and in 156 countries around the world. Queen’s varsity teams, known as the Golden Gaels compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of theCanadian Interuniversity Sport.

#9: OCAD University

OCAD University is Canada’s largest and oldest educational institution for art and design. It is located in Toronto,Ontario, Canada on McCaul Street beside the Art Gallery of Ontario. OCAD U offers courses through the Faculties of Art, Design, Liberal Studies, and alternative programs.

#8: Nipissing University

Nipissing University is a public liberal arts university located in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, on a 720-acre (290 ha) site overlooking Lake Nipissing. The university’s unique character is defined by its location in Northern Ontario, and a large and highly respected faculty of education. Its newly-constructed, $25 million library is named after former Ontario Premier, Mike Harris.

#7: McMaster University

McMaster University (commonly referred as McMaster or Mac) is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario,Canada. The main campus is located on 121 hectares (300 acres) of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton’s Royal Botanical Gardens. The university operates six academic faculties: Engineering, Health Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, and the DeGroote School of Business. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.

The university bears the name of Honourable William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker who bequeathed $900,000 to the founding of the university. McMaster University was incorporated under the terms of an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887, merging the Toronto Baptist College with Woodstock College. It opened in Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted the institution to relocate in 1930. McMaster was controlled by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec until it became a privately-chartered, publicly-funded non-denominational institution in 1957.

The university is co-educational, and has nearly 23,000 undergraduate and over 3,500 post-graduate students. Alumni and former students of the university can be found all across Canada and in over 120 countries around the world. The McMaster athletic teams are known as the Marauders, and are members of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

#6: Laurentian University

Laurentian University, founded in 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. While LU’s focus is primarily on undergraduate programming, the university also features Canada’s newest medical school — opened in 2005, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, in consortium with Lakehead University. Its school of Graduate Studies offers a growing number of graduate-level degrees. Laurentian is the largest bilingual provider of distance education in Canada.

#5: Lakehead University

Lakehead University is a public research university in Thunder Bay, and Orillia, Ontario, Canada.

Lakehead University, shortened to ‘Lakehead U’, or ‘LU’, is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate and graduate programs and a medical school.

The school has more than 45,000 alumni in 67 different countries. The main campus in Thunder Bay has more than 7,300 students. As of September 2011, a new permanent extension campus in Orillia, located about 150 km north of Toronto, has more than 1,100 students.

#4: Dominican University

The Dominican University College (formerly the Dominican College of Philosophy and Theology) is a bilingual Roman Catholic university in Ottawa, Ontario, offering civil and pontifical bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in philosophy and theology. Its name in French is Collège universitaire dominicain.

#3: Carleton University

Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has been consistently ranked among the top ten comprehensive universities in Canada. More than 2000 faculty members instruct some 25,000 students (including a record 6,000 newcomers for the 2011-2012 academic year) drawn from over 147 countries, studying for a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree. The University is named after Carleton County, Ontario, which included the city of Ottawa at the time Carleton was founded. Carleton County, in turn, was named in honour of Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, an early Governor-General of British North America.

Past chancellors include two Nobel laureates; pioneering scientist Gerhard Herzberg and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, as well as six Order of Canadarecipients. The Right Honourable Herb Gray, Canada’s longest-serving continuous Member of Parliament, former Cabinet minister in the Trudeau, Turner, and Chrétien governments, former Deputy Prime Minister, and acting Leader of the Opposition, is the current Chancellor of the University. Dr. Roseann Runte was appointed the university’s president on January 8, 2008, succeeding David W. Atkinson and his pro tempore (acting) successor Samy Mahmoud, the previous Vice-President (academic). In 2010, the Times World University Rankings placed Carleton in the 201st position (tying with the University of Maryland) as well as the 10th position in Canada.

#2: Brock University

Brock University is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs that include co-op and other experiential learning opportunities to an enrolment of over 17,000 full-time students. The enabling legislation is theBrock University Act, S.O. 1964.

Located at the center of Canada’s Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment in St. Catharines, Ontario, Brock University is the only Canadian university that is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Many of the buildings on campus were designed by the architectural firm, Moriyama & Teshima Architects.

A satellite campus used primarily for teacher education is located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Jack N. Lightstone became the school’s president on July 1, 2006. The University Chancellor is Ned Goodman, founder of Dundee Wealth Management.

The university is increasingly being recognized for its research, being placed among Canada’s leading academic institutions. Research Infosource recently ranked Brock third among Canadian undergraduate research universities based on research publication output and impact indicators.

#1: Algoma University

Algoma University (Algoma U) is a postsecondary institution in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, offering undergraduate university degrees in more than 30 academic programs. The student population has increased substantially in recent years and Algoma now has about 1200 students.

From its founding in 1967 until June 18, 2008, Algoma was an affiliated college of Laurentian University in Sudbury, and was officially known as Algoma University College.

The enabling legislation is the Algoma University Act, 2008.