A shared path forward: our 2026-29 strategic plan
Universities Canada is the voice of Canadian universities, at home and abroad.
We are a membership organization providing universities with a unified voice for higher education, research and innovation. Universities Canada advances the mission of our member institutions to transform lives, strengthen communities and find solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our world.
A new chapter
Canada’s universities help power a stronger, more prosperous future. They open doors to opportunity, prepare the skilled talent our country needs and generate research and innovation that strengthen communities, improve lives and drive economic growth. As one of Canada’s largest knowledge-based sectors, universities are essential to the country’s long-term resilience and success.
But the context is changing quickly. Canada is navigating economic and social disruption, accelerating technological change, new expectations from the public and increasing pressure on institutions to adapt. In this environment, the need for evidence-based solutions, skilled graduates and strong public trust has never been greater. Canada’s universities are uniquely positioned to meet this moment.
This is a pivotal moment for both the sector and Universities Canada. A continuation of past approaches is not enough. Our members need an organization that is focused, strategic and ready to lead — one that can respond to today’s pressures while helping shape tomorrow’s opportunities.
This three-year strategic plan is our response. It is a proactive and focused roadmap to sharpen our impact, strengthen our role as a national advocate and convener and ensure we are positioned to deliver what members need most. Through this plan, we will help build a university sector that is more resilient, more relevant and more trusted — and better equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Our focus areas
These four pillars form an interconnected strategy. Member service excellence is our foundation, ensuring member priorities are at the centre of everything we do. Building on that foundation, championing universities’ value and influential advocacy strengthen our ability to shape public understanding and federal policy. Convening ties these efforts together by deepening alignment, connection and collective action across the sector.
Member service excellence
Placing member priorities at the heart of our work, we will deliver responsive, relevant and high-impact support that strengthens the entire sector.
Influential advocacy
We will cement our role as the unified voice for Canadian universities, driving a proactive policy agenda and ensuring our members’ priorities are influential in federal policy development.
Championing universities’ value
We will drive a coordinated national effort to increase public confidence, proactively demonstrating the immense value and societal contributions of our member institutions.
Convening
We will create a rich, integrated dialogue with members, fostering greater alignment and collaboration by strategically engaging a wider array of senior leaders and hosting high-impact signature events.
Our future
Over the next three years, we will work in close partnership with university leaders across the country to realize this vision. Our four strategic areas — member service excellence, influential advocacy, championing universities’ value and convening — form a cohesive framework and proactive agenda to seize the opportunities facing our sector.
Together we are building a strong trusted and infuential university sector, one that is empowered to find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges and to continue its essential work of building a better, more prosperous future of all Canadians.
