Universities in Canada fall in global rankings from cap on international students

Universities in countries like Canada that have introduced restrictive immigration policies have seen their performance decline in this year’s Times Higher Education’s ranking of the World’s Most International Universities.

The schools at the top of the list all have a high proportion of international students and staff, collaborate on research with scholars from across the world, and have a strong global reputation to match.

The majority of universities in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands have fallen this year, with most of the ranked universities in the three countries slipping down the 2026 table, which measures universities’ share of international staff, students, co-authored publications and reputation.

Australia suffered the most widespread decline in performance of all nations with five of its six institutions (83 per cent) performing worse than last year. This was followed by Canada (75 per cent) and the Netherlands (60 per cent). Almost half of all U.S. universities went downwards in the rankings as well.

In 2024, Canada announced a limit on the number of study visas it grants, among other restrictions; Australia unveiled overseas enrollment caps and the Netherlands announced several measures aimed at reducing the number of international students.

“While causality cannot be definitively attributed, the timing does coincide with policy shifts affecting international student flows in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands,” said THE data scientist Cathy Tushabe.

The University of Toronto, Canada’s top ranked university, actually bucked the trend, rising to 27 on the list this year from 35, but other schools in the top 50 all saw declines, including University of British Columbia (32 from 26) and McGill (43 from 39).

Three schools in Hong Kong top the list (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong), followed by University College London and Abu Dhabi University.

Universities, by their nature, are global institutions. Typically, they are home to communities of students and scholars from all over the world, and they tackle some of the globe’s most pressing problems through research.

Diverse communities of students improve the teaching and learning experience, research suggests, while opportunities for students to spend time abroad better prepare them to become global citizens.