Where's Canada's Harvard?

I have a few years ahead of me before I have to start worrying about picking a university, but as I am curious and somewhat apprehensive, I’ve already started doing some basic research.

Though my parents who are both academics often remind me that there is more to a university than its ranking, I still decided to check them out. After after a few minutes of sifting through various ones, the truth dawned upon me: Canadian Universities were not world class.

Sure, UofT and Université de Montréal usually got placed in the high twenties, but both institutions are notorious for being overcrowded and having a bad atmosphere. Why didn’t Canada have a Harvard of its own? After all, Britain is 60 million and has 2-3 top twenties, the US is 300 million and has 15-17 top twenties. Canada being 30 million, shouldn’t it have one?

I know that this is a grossly simplified picture which ignores the structure and historical background of the institutions. But we must remember that while an increasing number of countries are being able to offer basic education, globalization is making it possible for those new workers to compete for traditionally Canadian jobs. The only thing that will set Canadians apart is advanced training, which requires good universities resulting from governmental investment.

It's true that having no top twenty institutions isn't necessarily a symptom of a bad university network, but it's certainly a sign that there' s still room for improvement.