Canadian universities are able to set their own tuition fees and will often charge higher prices for degrees which can lead to higher-paying jobs. Within the country, universities typically function under provincial and territorial government charters. The majority of public universities in Canada are also members of Universities Canada, a non-profit national organization that aims to coordinate university policy, providing guidance and direction.

This report looks at undergraduate and graduate tuition fees across Canadian public universities as a whole and how costs can vary between domestic and international students.

Top Canadian tuition fee statistics

• As of the 2022-23 academic year, tuition fees for domestic undergraduates average 6,834 CAD, increasing 2.61% over 2021/22 (6,660 CAD).
• Domestic undergraduate tuition fees range from 5,128 CAD to 23,963 CAD on average.
• Tuition fees for international undergraduates on average are 36,123 CAD, increasing 8.00% over 2021/22 (33,446 CAD).
• International undergraduate tuition fees range from 23,630 CAD to 68,256 CAD on average.
• Tuition fees for domestic graduates on average are 7,437 CAD, increasing 1.67% over 2021/22 (7,315 CAD).
• Domestic graduate tuition fees range from 4,018 CAD to 53,227 CAD on average.
• Tuition fees for international graduates on average are 21,111 CAD, increasing 4.27% over 2021/22 (20,246 CAD).
• International graduate tuition fees range from 9,726 CAD to 76,687 CAD on average.

Average undergraduate tuition fees by field (domestic)

Tuition fees for domestic undergraduate students have remained relatively stable overall. Although some fields of study have seen large price increases, the cost to study other topics has dropped significantly.

• As of the 2022-23 academic year, the average domestic undergraduate tuition fee is 6,834 CAD, an increase of 0.18% over 2018’s 6,822 CAD.
• Average undergraduate tuition fees range from 5,128 CAD to 23,963 CAD.
• Undergraduates studying dentistry have the highest average annual fees paid at 23,963 CAD.
• Undergraduates studying education have the lowest average annual fees to pay at 5,158 CAD.
• Veterinary medicine tuition fees showed the largest increase, rising 88.61% over the period.
• In contrast, Optometry tuition fees showed the largest decrease, falling 15.74% over the period.

Field	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Change
Education	4,732	4,648	4,801	5,013	5,158	+ 9.00%
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies	6,131	5,789	5,843	6,009	6,135	+ 0.07%
Humanities	5,773	5,486	5,635	5,737	5,889	+ 2.01%
Social and behavioural sciences, and legal studies	5,902	5,555	5,639	5,740	5,864	– 0.64%
Law	13,216	12,527	12,727	12,852	13,222	+ 0.05%
Business, management and public administration	7,222	6,795	6,864	7,045	7,207	– 0.21%
Physical and life sciences and technologies	6,397	6,068	6,149	5,860	5,992	– 6.33%
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	7,320	6,814	6,861	6,876	7,012	– 4.21%
Engineering	8,532	7,949	8,067	8,257	8,527	– 0.06%
Architecture	6,967	6,470	6,462	6,599	6,718	– 3.57%
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	5,831	5,614	5,693	5,886	6,031	+ 3.43%
Dentistry	22,747	22,242	22,408	22,920	23,963	+ 5.35%
Medicine	14,794	14,201	14,321	14,627	15,182	+ 2.62%
Nursing	5,763	5,583	5,685	5,826	5,995	+ 4.03%
Pharmacy	10,780	10,931	11,154	11,351	12,291	+ 14.02%
Veterinary medicine	7,867	7,852	14,162	14,284	14,838	+ 88.61%
Optometry	12,330	11,203	10,687	10,357	10,389	– 15.74%
Other health, parks, recreation and fitness	6,227	5,867	5,993	6,097	6,207	– 0.32%
Personal, protective and transportation services	6,203	5,686	5,777	5,836	5,894	– 4.98%

A graph is given below to show the most expensive fields for domestic undergraduates in Canada on average:

A graph is given below to show the least expensive fields for domestic undergraduates in Canada on average:

Average undergraduate tuition fees by field (international)

Undergraduate tuition fees for international students have seen some of the biggest price rises in Canada. In addition, price hikes can be seen across all fields of study since 2018.

• As of the 2022-23 academic year, the average international undergraduate tuition fee is 36,123 CAD, an increase of 30.82% over 2018’s 27,613 CAD.
• Average undergraduate tuition fees range from 23,630 CAD to 68,256 CAD.
• Undergraduates studying veterinary medicine have the highest average annual fees to pay at 68,256 CAD.
• Undergraduates studying education have the lowest average annual fees to pay at 23,630 CAD.
• Architecture tuition fees showed the largest increase, rising 126.23% over the period.
• In contrast, pharmacy tuition fees showed the smallest increase, 8.79% for the period.

Field	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Change
Education	18,761	21,057	22,842	22,564	23,630	+ 25.95%
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies	23,520	25,467	27,431	28,874	46,980	+ 99.74%
Humanities	26,617	27,517	29,845	32,293	34,186	+ 28.44%
Social and behavioural sciences, and legal studies	25,673	27,891	30,320	31,937	33,776	+ 31.56%
Law	30,932	34,273	37,015	39,758	42,224	+ 36.51%
Business, management and public administration	26,723	29,039	31,095	32,338	33,901	+ 26.86%
Physical and life sciences and technologies	29,203	32,394	34,465	35,366	37,411	+ 28.11%
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	30,370	32,989	35,182	36,957	39,000	+ 28.42%
Engineering	31,393	33,462	35,527	36,656	39,562	+ 26.02%
Architecture	24,698	27,751	30,995	31,575	55,875	+ 126.23%
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	24,510	26,260	28,661	30,781	32,462	+ 32.44%
Dentistry	53,521	55,102	56,244	57,606	59,515	+ 11.20%
Medicine	31,214	35,271	44,648	55,756	58,790	+ 88.34%
Nursing	20,861	21,921	23,105	24,444	26,203	+ 25.61%
Pharmacy	38,903	39,531	39,855	40,661	42,323	+ 8.79%
Veterinary medicine	60,432	63,406	65,652	66,571	68,256	+ 12.95%
Other health, parks, recreation and fitness	23,269	24,553	24,973	25,510	26,837	+ 15.33%
Personal, protective and transportation services	19,489	23,694	26,861	25,782	27,325	+ 40.21%

A graph is given below to show the most expensive fields for international undergraduates in Canada on average:

A graph is given below to show the least expensive fields for international undergraduates in Canada on average:

Average graduate tuition fees by field (domestic)

As with domestic undergraduates, tuition fees for graduates have remained stable on average, despite some fields seeing large increases and decreases in pricing.

• As of the 2022-23 academic year, the average domestic graduate tuition fee is 7,437 CAD, an increase of 0.66% over 2018’s 7,388 CAD.
• Average graduate tuition fees range from 4,018 CAD to 53,227 CAD.
• Graduates studying executive MBAs have the highest average annual fees to pay at 53,227 CAD.
• Graduates studying veterinary medicine have the lowest average annual fees paid at 4,018 CAD.
• Business, management, and public administration tuition fees showed the largest increase, rising 9.61% over the period.
• In contrast, other health, parks, recreation, and fitness tuition fees showed the largest decrease, falling 18.44% over the period.

Field	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Change
Education	6,546	6,423	6,523	6,640	6,747	+ 3.07%
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies	5,440	5,263	5,506	5,588	5,681	+ 4.43%
Humanities	4,827	4,881	4,678	4,817	4,898	+ 1.47%
Social and behavioural sciences, and legal studies	6,135	5,801	6,008	6,006	6,056	– 1.29%
Law	6,179	6,036	6,087	6,499	6,589	+ 6.64%
Business, management and public administration	13,524	13,145	14,052	14,630	14,823	+ 9.61%
Executive MBA	59,709	50,459	51,005	52,101	53,227	– 10.86%
Regular MBA	31,818	29,028	29,065	29,544	30,464	– 4.26%
Physical and life sciences and technologies	7,056	6,741	6,740	6,828	6,935	– 1.71%
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	8,456	8,395	8,562	8,702	8,902	+ 5.27%
Engineering	7,369	6,990	7,037	7,243	7,454	+ 1.15%
Architecture	6,567	6,742	6,349	6,533	6,679	+ 1.71%
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	5,669	5,938	5,896	5,892	6,045	+ 6.63%
Dentistry	13,726	13,002	12,995	13,112	13,223	– 3.66%
Nursing	6,684	6,328	6,532	6,777	6,956	+ 4.07%
Pharmacy	4,055	4,245	4,171	4,340	4,403	+ 8.58%
Veterinary medicine	4,358	4,170	3,948	3,968	4,018	– 7.80%
Optometry	5,012	4,508	4,508	4,508	4,508	– 10.06%
Other health, parks, recreation and fitness	8,786	8,401	8,570	7,043	7,166	– 18.44%
Personal, protective and transportation services	6,007	5,513	4,500	5,795	5,839	– 2.80%

A graph is given below to show the most expensive fields for domestic graduates in Canada on average:

A graph is given below to show the least expensive fields for domestic graduates in Canada on average:

Average graduate tuition fees by field (international)

For international graduate students, tuition fees have risen steadily over time. However, the cost of graduate degrees for international degrees is much cheaper on average than at undergraduate level.

• As of the 2022-23 academic year, the average international graduate tuition fee is 21,111 CAD, an increase of 24.22% over 2018’s 16,995 CAD.
• Average graduate tuition fees range from 9,726 CAD to 76,687 CAD.
• Graduates studying executive MBAs have the highest average annual fees to pay at 76,687 CAD.
• Graduates studying veterinary medicine have the lowest average annual fees to pay at 9,726 CAD.
• Pharmacy tuition fees showed the largest increase, rising 34.11% over the period.
• In contrast, personal, protective, and transportation services tuition fees showed the largest decrease, falling 6.25% over the period.

Field	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Change
Education	15,267	16,068	17,135	18,160	18,854	+ 23.50%
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies	14,122	14,724	15,619	16,391	16,895	+ 19.64%
Humanities	13,250	13,702	14,217	14,909	15,406	+ 16.27%
Social and behavioural sciences, and legal studies	14,550	14,985	16,040	16,745	17,127	+ 17.71%
Law	16,586	17,529	18,208	18,760	19,442	+ 17.22%
Business, management and public administration	23,808	24,408	26,472	26,969	27,875	+ 17.08%
Executive MBA	67,657	55,424	63,005	75,099	76,687	+ 13.35%
Regular MBA	38,406	38,668	39,674	40,238	41,767	+ 8.75%
Physical and life sciences and technologies	14,910	15,125	16,030	16,671	17,138	+ 14.94%
Mathematics, computer and information sciences	16,114	17,441	18,406	19,239	19,865	+ 23.28%
Engineering	18,236	19,736	21,717	22,405	23,708	+ 30.01%
Architecture	23,082	24,951	25,011	26,425	27,550	+ 19.36%
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation	13,953	13,763	14,886	15,886	16,521	+ 18.40%
Dentistry	21,533	22,507	25,120	26,626	27,712	+ 28.70%
Nursing	15,518	16,318	16,192	17,783	18,425	+ 18.73%
Pharmacy	11,421	11,646	13,396	14,856	15,317	+ 34.11%
Veterinary medicine	9,896	9,834	9,163	9,749	9,726	– 1.72%
Optometry	13,608	14,014	14,436	14,868	15,092	+ 10.91%
Other health, parks, recreation and fitness	17,734	18,109	19,620	20,785	21,868	+ 23.31%
Personal, protective and transportation services	N/A	N/A	12,550	11,609	11,765	– 6.25%

A graph is given below to show the most expensive fields for international graduates in Canada on average:

A graph is given below to show the least expensive fields for international graduates in Canada on average:

Average tuition fees by level of study (domestic and international)

Trends show that average tuition fees for domestic students have remained relatively stable whilst average tuition fees for international students have increased significantly.

• As of 2023, domestic students enrolled in undergraduate degrees have the lowest average tuition fees at 6,834 CAD.
• Domestic students enrolled in graduate degrees have the second-lowest average tuition fees at 7,437 CAD.
• International students enrolled in undergraduate degrees have the highest average tuition fees at 36,123 CAD.
• International students enrolled in graduate degrees have the second-highest average tuition fees at 21,111 CAD.

Student type	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	Change
Domestic undergraduate	6,822	6,468	6,580	6,660	6,834	+ 0.18%
International undergraduate	27,613	29,883	32,039	33,446	36,123	+ 30.82%
Domestic graduate	7,388	7,186	7,361	7,315	7,437	+ 0.66%
International graduate	16,995	17,934	19,429	20,246	21,111	+ 24.22%

A graph is given below to show average tuition fees by level of study for domestic and international students:

Canadian university tuition fees FAQ

Does the Canadian government subsidize study for domestic students?

• The Canadian government does subsidize study for domestic students. 
• This allows domestic students to receive higher education at reduced rates of tuition.

Why do international students pay more for tuition in Canada?

• In Canada, international students are charged higher prices for their tuition. 
• As the Canadian government does not subsidize international students, international students are required to pay the full cost of their higher education.