An annual ranking of the world’s top universities suggests Canada’s institutions may be losing ground, at a time when Asia’s schools are rising.

The Times Higher Education 2016-17 World University Rankings has ranked Canada’s perennial top three performers all lower this year:

University of Toronto fell from 19 to 22

University of British Columbia moved down from 34 to 36

McGill University dropped from 38 to 42

Asia’s top three universities, meanwhile, were all up:

National University of Singapore moved from 26 to 24

China’s Peking University leaped from 42 to 29

China’s Tsinghua University bumped up from 47 to 35.

Only six of the 25 Canadian universities that were ranked in 2015-16 improved:

University of Montreal is ranked 103 (up from 113)

University of Alberta is ranked 107 (up from 137)

University of Waterloo is ranked 173 (up from 179)

University of Calgary is ranked 195 (up from 201-250)

Queen’s University and Simon Fraser University are between 201 and 250 (up from between 251 to 300)

Times Higher Education Editor Phil Baty said it’s proof “Canada will have to watch out for Asia’s continuing ascent.”

“Canada’s success cannot be guaranteed in the long-term while more of Asia’s leading universities soar to join the world elite,” he added.

Canada’s research funding – a major component of the rankings -- fell from third in the OECD in 2006 to eighth in 2013, according to Universities Canada. However, the country’s three main granting agencies got a $95-million boost in the 2016 budget, so that may help with next year’s ranking.

In total, Times Higher Education evaluated 980 universities using 13 numerical indicators related to teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income.

There are 26 universities on the list from Canada this year, including new entrant University of Windsor.

The annual ranking continues to be topped by institutions from the United Kingdom and the U.S.



Here are the top 200: