41 Best universities for Sports / Exercise science in Canada

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Canada ranked based on their research performance in Sports / Exercise science. A graph of 862K citations received by 19.7K academic papers made by 41 universities in Canada was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of British Columbia

British Columbia | Vancouver

For Sports / Exercise science

#4 in North America

#4 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Enrollment: 71,201
Founded: 1908

2. University of Toronto

Ontario | Toronto

For Sports / Exercise science

#9 in North America

#14 in the World

Enrollment: 102,431
Founded: 1827

3. University of Alberta

Alberta | Edmonton

For Sports / Exercise science

#10 in North America

#15 in the World

Enrollment: 31,185
Founded: 1908

4. McMaster University

Ontario | Hamilton

For Sports / Exercise science

#14 in North America

#23 in the World

Enrollment: 27,965
Founded: 1887

5. University of Ottawa

Ontario | Ottawa

For Sports / Exercise science

#17 in North America

#29 in the World

Enrollment: 42,027
Founded: 1848

6. Queen's University

Ontario | Kingston

For Sports / Exercise science

#19 in North America

#31 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 64%
Enrollment: 35,612
Founded: 1841

7. Western University

Ontario | London

For Sports / Exercise science

#20 in North America

#32 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Enrollment: 21,836
Founded: 1878

8. University of Calgary

Alberta | Calgary

For Sports / Exercise science

#27 in North America

#46 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Enrollment: 33,000
Founded: 1966

9. University of Waterloo

Ontario | Waterloo

For Sports / Exercise science

#40 in North America

#71 in the World

Founded: 1957

10. Laval University

Quebec State | Quebec City

For Sports / Exercise science

#43 in North America

#76 in the World

Enrollment: 56,000
Founded: 1852

11. McGill University

Quebec State | Montreal

For Sports / Exercise science

#45 in North America

#78 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Enrollment: 37,888
Founded: 1821

12. University of Montreal

Quebec State | Montreal

For Sports / Exercise science

#59 in North America

#104 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Enrollment: 66,972
Founded: 1878

13. University of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan | Saskatoon

For Sports / Exercise science

#63 in North America

#113 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 20,953
Founded: 1907

14. York University

Ontario | Toronto

For Sports / Exercise science

#71 in North America

#129 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 32%
Enrollment: 53,000
Founded: 1959

15. University of Victoria

British Columbia | Victoria

For Sports / Exercise science

#74 in North America

#135 in the World

Enrollment: 15,999
Founded: 1963

16. Dalhousie University

Nova Scotia | Halifax

For Sports / Exercise science

#78 in North America

#142 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Enrollment: 30,867
Founded: 1818

17. Brock University

Ontario | St. Catharines

For Sports / Exercise science

#97 in North America

#195 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Founded: 1964

18. University of Manitoba

Manitoba | Winnipeg

For Sports / Exercise science

#111 in North America

#231 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Enrollment: 29,800
Founded: 1877

19. University of Guelph

Ontario | Guelph

For Sports / Exercise science

#113 in North America

#236 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Founded: 1964

20. Simon Fraser University

British Columbia | Burnaby

For Sports / Exercise science

#133 in North America

#302 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1965

21. University of Sherbrooke

Quebec State | Sherbrooke

For Sports / Exercise science

#146 in North America

#352 in the World

Enrollment: 40,000
Founded: 1954

22. Memorial University of Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John's

For Sports / Exercise science

#160 in North America

#389 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 78%
Founded: 1925

23. University of Quebec in Montreal

Quebec State | Montreal

For Sports / Exercise science

#163 in North America

#394 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Enrollment: 40,000
Founded: 1969

24. University of Quebec, Trois-Rivieres

Quebec State | Trois-Rivieres

For Sports / Exercise science

#173 in North America

#454 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 14,000
Founded: 1969

25. University of New Brunswick

New Brunswick | Fredericton

For Sports / Exercise science

#179 in North America

#478 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Enrollment: 32,036
Founded: 1785

26. Concordia University

Quebec State | Montreal

For Sports / Exercise science

#186 in North America

#507 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Founded: 1974

27. University of Lethbridge

Alberta | Lethbridge

For Sports / Exercise science

#201 in North America

#582 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Founded: 1967

28. University of Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island | Charlottetown

For Sports / Exercise science

#207 in North America

#614 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Enrollment: 4,336
Founded: 1969

29. University of Regina

Saskatchewan | Regina

For Sports / Exercise science

#214 in North America

#638 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Founded: 1911

30. Wilfrid Laurier University

Ontario | Waterloo

For Sports / Exercise science

#228 in North America

#677 in the World

Enrollment: 19,000
Founded: 1911

31. Carleton University

Ontario | Ottawa

For Sports / Exercise science

#241 in North America

#734 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 17%
Enrollment: 9,109
Founded: 1942

32. Acadia University

Nova Scotia | Wolfville

For Sports / Exercise science

#246 in North America

#749 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 74%
Founded: 1838

33. St. Francis Xavier University

Nova Scotia | Antigonish

For Sports / Exercise science

#254 in North America

#766 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1853

34. Ontario Tech University

Ontario | Oshawa

For Sports / Exercise science

#257 in North America

#773 in the World

Founded: 2002

35. Laurentian University

Ontario | Greater Sudbury

For Sports / Exercise science

#258 in North America

#784 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Enrollment: 9,323
Founded: 1960

36. University of Windsor

Ontario | Windsor

For Sports / Exercise science

#260 in North America

#788 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Enrollment: 16,092
Founded: 1857

37. Ryerson University

Ontario | Toronto

For Sports / Exercise science

#263 in North America

#804 in the World

Enrollment: 38,950
Founded: 1948

38. Lakehead University

Ontario | Thunder Bay

For Sports / Exercise science

#302 in North America

#975 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1965

39. University of Moncton

New Brunswick | Moncton

For Sports / Exercise science

#325 in North America

#1168 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1864

40. Mount Royal University

Alberta | Calgary

For Sports / Exercise science

#331 in North America

#1195 in the World

Founded: 1910

41. Nipissing University

Ontario | North Bay

For Sports / Exercise science

#340 in North America

#1312 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1992

The best cities to study Sports / Exercise science in Canada based on the number of universities and their ranks are Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, and Hamilton.