McGill University: Canada's Oxford, English-Taught, and Montreal's Long-Standing Medical School Leader

Published on May 14, 2026

McGill University is Canada's highest-ranked university in QS (QS 2026 Global #27, two places above U of T), and ranks first among Medical Doctoral universities in Maclean's, holding the top spot for 19 consecutive years. If you ask Canadian families, "Which university carries the most prestige?", many will say McGill, because it was founded in 1821, 46 years before Canada became a country (Canadian Confederation was established in 1867). It is one of the few old universities in the English-speaking world that can be mentioned alongside Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.

The media often calls it "Canada's Harvard," but that comparison is not quite accurate. McGill's character is closer to a Canadian version of Oxford: British academic tradition, an urban campus, scholarly authority, and less emphasis on American-style school spirit. It sits at the foot of Mont Royal in downtown Montreal, Quebec. Across the university, 96% of courses are taught in English, making it the most prominent English-language higher education stronghold in the French-speaking province of Quebec. Since 2024, however, the Quebec government's Bill 96 legislation and tuition reforms have created the largest political and financial storm McGill has faced since its founding. We will break down what this means for Taiwanese families in §4 and §13.

1. Basic Information