Toronto 
Four Canadian Universities ranked in the top 10 in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023 out of 1,591 participating institutions in its global ranking of universities that are advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Queen’s University Campus (CNW Group/Queen”s University)
The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings evaluate universities globally based on their contributions to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were established by UN member nations in 2015 to guide global action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure shared peace and prosperity for all people by 2030.
The ranking, in its fifth edition, analyses universities across research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.
The 2023 rankings have assessed 1,591 universities from 112 countries, including 26 Canadian universities.
Australia’s Western Sydney University leads, followed by the UK’s University of Manchester and Canada’s Queen’s University. Universiti Sains Malaysia tops among emerging economies.
With 26 institutions, the UK has the highest representation in the top 100, followed by Australia (16) and Canada (15).
Per Queen’s University press release, Queen’s is the only Canadian university to achieve three, top-ten placements since the rankings began in 2019. The university in Kingston submitted more than 400 pieces of evidence to illustrate its contributions towards an inclusive, diverse, and sustainable future.
Top 12 Universities – Impact Rankings 2023
1. Western Sydney University, Australia
2. University of Manchester, United Kingdom
3. Queen’s University, Canada
4. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
5. University of Tasmania, Australia
6 Arizona State University (Tempe), United States
7. University of Alberta, Canada
7. RMIT University, Australia
9. Aalborg University, Denmark
9. University of Victoria, Canada
9. Western University, Canada
12. University of Auckland, New Zealand
Ranking of Canadian Universities – Impact Rankings 2023
3. Queen’s University, Kingston
7. University of Alberta, Edmonton
9. University of Victoria, Victoria
9. Western University, London
14. Université Laval, Québec City
26. University of British Columbia, Vancouver
33. McMaster University, Hamilton
34. University of Calgary, Calgary
40. York University, Toronto
42. University of Montreal, Montréal
55. University of Waterloo, Waterloo
67. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon
79. University of Guelph, Guelph
86. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
99. University of Toronto, Toronto
100. Dalhousie University, Halifax
101–200. Concordia University, Montreal
101–200. Lakehead University, Thunder Bay
101–200. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Catharines
201–300. Brock University, St. Catharines
201–300. University of Ottawa, Ottawa
201–300. Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto
301–400. Carleton University, Ottawa
301–400. University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
401–600. University of Regina, Regina
801–1000. Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Quebec City
The Times Higher Education says universities are evaluated on their research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching related to these SDGs. For research, universities must create relevant studies. Stewardship involves resource management, including human resources. Outreach encompasses universities’ work with their local to international communities impacting sustainability, and teaching focuses on training students to implement SDGs in their careers.
Universities provide data for as many SDGs as possible, needing at least three plus SDG 17 (partnerships) to qualify for overall ranking. A university’s score combines its score on SDG 17 (22% weight) with its top three other SDGs (26% each). The final score is the average of the last two years’ scores, with each SDG score scaled between 0 and 100. The Times Higher Education says this allows equitable comparison across different SDGs.
