List of universities in Canada

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."As a result of this constitutional agreement, a distinctive system of higher education has evolved in each province. 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 theConstitution Act of 1982, the federal government is largely responsible for funding higher education opportunities for Aboriginal learners.

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. 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.AmongG7 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.

There are 83 universities in Canada that are independent post-secondary education institutions with degree-granting authority.Seven of these universities are in Montreal, Quebec, the most of any Canadian city. Since 2008, there are five recognized universities withinMetro 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 is the largest, with 87,000 students.

Alberta

There are five universities in Alberta, thirteen public colleges (one of which grants degrees^{[citation needed]}), and seven private colleges (all of which grant degrees). Most private colleges refer to themselves as "university colleges", but are not legally universities, although they grant equivalent degrees.^[9] Post-secondary education in Alberta is regulated by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology.^[9] There are two universities in Calgary: University of Calgaryand Mount Royal University. Edmonton, the province's capital city, is home to the University of Alberta, the province's oldest and largest university.

In 2009, a bill was passed by the Alberta legislature that allowed the two public colleges that offered degrees (MacEwan College in Edmonton and Mount Royal College in Calgary) to rename themselves universities.^[10] Mount Royal College was renamed Mount Royal University on September 3, 2009 ^[11] and Grant MacEwan College became Grant MacEwan University on September 24, 2009.^[12]

Institution	Location(s)	L	E	U	P	T	Notes
University of Alberta	Edmonton,Camrose	B	1906	29,250	6,930	36,180	[13]
Athabasca University	Athabasca	E	1970	36,240	3,460	39,700	[14]
University of Calgary	Calgary	E	1966	23,320	6,540	29,860	[15]
University of Lethbridge	Lethbridge,Edmonton, Calgary	E	1967	7,930	300	8,230	[16]
Mount Royal University	Calgary	E	1910	0	0	13,278	[17]
Grant MacEwan University	Edmonton	E	1971	5,000	0	9,547	[18]