UM ranks 6th in Canada on Climate Action; Good Health and Wellbeing

The University of Manitoba ranks in Canada’s top 20 in the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. This competitive global ranking measures how well universities advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—from climate action to health equity—and this year’s results reflect UM’s long-standing commitment to leadership on the global stage.

Based on our participation, UM was ranked in 6 of the 17 SDGs.

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing: UM climbed to sixth in Canada and 82nd in the world this year from the 401–600 range globally in 2024.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: UM is now eleventh in Canada and in the top 200 globally, reflecting strengths in water research and stewardship.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: With a place among the top 20 in Canada, UM continues to build its reputation for impactful research and innovation.
SDG 13: Climate Action: UM ranks sixth in Canada and 89th globally, reflecting our leadership in Arctic and climate research
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: UM ranks 12th in Canada and in the 101–200 global range, underscoring our work in Indigenous rights, governance, and social justice.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: A key area of growth, UM jumped to 201–300 this year, ranking 17th in Canada, from the 401–600 range globally in 2024.

“UM’s research and community engagement has an incredible impact throughout the world on efforts connected to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” said Michael Benarroch, President and Vice-Chancellor. “We are often much too humble, but we are world leaders in climate action, health as a human right, water sustainability and so much more. I’m pleased to see UM get some of the recognition it deserves for all our efforts advancing these important goals.”

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the UN SDGs. This year’s rankings included more than 2,000 institutions worldwide, making UM’s position even more noteworthy. This is UM’s second year participating in the rankings.

About the SDGS

In April 2017, the president of the United Nations General Assembly wrote to higher education institutions around the world, including the University of Manitoba. The letter was delivered to spark movement and create a call-to-action to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainability Development within the university environment. The university was encouraged to include the Global Goals as part of research, teaching and study within the institution.

Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.