Open research · 2027 planning edition
Canadian university discovery landscape
This is a clear look at the directory students see before they make a shortlist. It shows where institutions are located and how big the campus environment is. It shows which broad program signals appear most often. It also shows where deeper research from official sources is still needed.
Published: July 21, 2026 · Updated: September 28, 2026 · Coverage: Canadian universities and university-level federated/specialized institutions represented in the Stellar directory · License: You may quote the aggregate analysis with attribution and a link to this page. See the citation and reuse guidance below. Official institution data remains subject to its source terms.
98
institutions in directory
11
provinces and territories represented
16
institutions with a rank signal
19
deep university guide routes
The CSV retains the legacy column name stellar_rank_canada for stored QS 2026 Canada positions. It does not export the directory’s sequential Stellar Rank. Read the ranking methodology and coverage limits.
Distribution by province
Institution count is a discovery measure. It is not a measure of quality. It is not a measure of enrolment, program breadth, or student capacity.
Ontario
29
Quebec
19
British Columbia
12
Alberta
10
Nova Scotia
9
Manitoba
6
Saskatchewan
6
New Brunswick
4
Newfoundland and Labrador
1
Prince Edward Island
1
Yukon
1
Campus-scale signal
Our directory uses large, mid-sized, and small as discovery filters. They are editorial categories, not official university classifications.
Most common broad program signals
These labels mean a broad field appears in the discovery record. They do not confirm a particular major, campus, accreditation, or intake. They do not confirm current availability.
What this dataset can—and cannot—answer
Appropriate uses
- Map the breadth of Canadian university discovery options.
- Find institutions by province, city, campus-scale signal, and broad fields.
- Identify which university pages need deeper official-source coverage.
- Build transparent starting lists for additional research.
Inappropriate uses
- Predict admission or compare applicant chances.
- Treat a broad program label as current program confirmation.
- Interpret directory rank as a complete quality measure.
- Replace official tuition, curriculum, deadline, or requirement sources.
Data dictionary
The downloadable file has ten variables. These definitions make the editorial fields and their limits explicit before the data is reused.
| CSV column | Meaning | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| name | Institution display name used in the public Stellar directory. | Names are discovery labels, not a legal-status classification. |
| slug | Stable Stellar directory identifier for the institution record. | This is a site identifier, not an institution-issued code. |
| province | Canadian province or territory attached to the directory record. | Multi-campus institutions are assigned one primary region. |
| city | Primary city shown for discovery and directory filtering. | It does not enumerate every campus or teaching location. |
| campus_scale_signal | Editorial small, mid-sized, or large campus discovery signal. | It is not an official enrolment count or quality measure. |
| broad_program_signals | Pipe-delimited broad fields attached to the discovery record. | A signal does not confirm a current major, intake, or campus. |
| official_website | Institution website used as the starting point for verification. | Applicants must verify details on the relevant program page. |
| stellar_rank_canada | Legacy column name: the stored QS 2026 Canada position, where present. | This is not the directory’s Stellar Rank. Coverage is partial; missing values do not imply an institution is unranked by QS. |
| world_rank_signal | Stored QS World University Rankings 2026 position or band, where present. | Partial stored coverage of the 2026 edition; not a live or latest-edition ranking. |
| deep_guide_available | Whether Stellar publishes a dedicated guide for the institution. | Guide availability is editorial coverage, not institutional quality. |
Stable attribution
Cite and reuse this dataset
Link to this canonical research page, not the raw CSV. That way readers get the methodology, version, limitations, and source context. If you transform the file, record the version date and describe your inclusion rules.
Suggested citation
Stellar Advisers. (2026). Canadian University Discovery Directory (Version 2026-09-28) [Data set]. https://www.stellaradvisers.com/research/canadian-university-discovery-landscape
BibTeX
@dataset{stellar_advisers_2026_canadian_university_directory,
author = {{Stellar Advisers}},
title = {Canadian University Discovery Directory},
year = {2026},
version = {2026-09-28},
url = {https://www.stellaradvisers.com/research/canadian-university-discovery-landscape}
}- Version: 2026-09-28
- Publisher: Stellar Advisers
- Canonical record: Stellar Advisers — Canadian University Discovery Landscape
Methodology and reproducibility
Stellar's public university explorer uses a structured directory. The report comes straight from that same directory. It uses the directory on the publication date. Each record has the institution name, slug, province, city, and official website. Each record also has the editorial campus-scale signal and broad discovery programs. Each record also has optional rank and guide fields.
Counts are deterministic. Province and campus-scale totals count records. Program totals count every broad label attached to a record. Rank and guide coverage count non-empty structured fields. No survey responses, applicant profiles, scholarship identity filters, or private account data are included.
Directory inclusion is broader than a conventional standalone-university list because federated and specialized university-level institutions can be useful discovery options. Researchers should apply their own inclusion rules to the downloadable CSV.