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uhn’s toronto general hospital hits historic high with no. 2 global ranking

toronto general hospital building
toronto general is recognized for its industry-leading work in cardiac care, transplantation, and complex patient care. it is home to the peter munk cardiac centre and the ajmera transplant centre. supplied
toronto general hospital has reached new heights as the second-best hospital in the world on newsweek magazine’s world’s best hospitals 2026.
after two straight years in the no. 3 position, the university health network hospital set a new standard with the highest-ever ranking for a canadian institution.
“this global recognition affirms uhn’s legacy of discovery and our pursuit of excellence where care, research, and education move together in service of patients. it belongs to teamuhn: clinicians, researchers, educators, learners, and staff whose collective work is delivering exceptional care, advancing discovery, and preparing the next generation of health professionals,” dr. kevin smith, president and ceo of university health network, said in a press release.
“this is a moment of pride for ontario and canada, but not a victory lap. it is a call to lead with ambition, to advance health research at scale, and to ensure canada continues to shape what’s next in health care and science.”
toronto general hospital comes in behind top-ranked mayo clinic-rochester (rochester, minn.), and is followed by cleveland clinic (cleveland), karolinska universitetssjukhuset (stockholm) and massachusetts general hospital (boston) to round out the top five.
 dr. marcelo cypel, left, is a staff thoracic surgeon at university health network (uhn).
dr. marcelo cypel, left, is a staff thoracic surgeon at university health network (uhn). supplied
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other notable canadian institutions on the list are mount sinai hospital (27), sunnybrook health sciences centre (30), north york general hospital (67), st. michael’s hospital (116) and uhn’s toronto western hospital (128).
the princess margaret cancer centre was also recognized as canada’s top specialized hospital in 2026—ninth on the global specialized list.
“ontario is home to world-class hospitals that are leading the way in health care, research, and education,” sylvia jones, ontario’s deputy premier and minister of health, said in a press release. “congratulations to uhn’s toronto general hospital on achieving this significant milestone, demonstrating your team’s dedication to providing innovative, patient-centred care to ontario families.”
toronto general is recognized for it’s industry-leading work in cardiac care, transplantation, and complex patient care. it is home to the peter munk cardiac centre and the ajmera transplant centre.
“being ranked the second-best hospital in the world is a powerful validation of the strength of our integrated academic health system. it reflects the collective impact of teamuhn and affirms that excellence can thrive within a universal health system,” dean connor, chair of the board of directors for university health network, said in a press release. “this moment brings pride and a responsibility to continue advancing what health care can achieve for patients in canada and globally.”
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newsweek has partnered with statista on the list since its inception in 2019. more than 2,500 hospitals were evaluated and 32 countries are represented in the 2026 results.
the list looks at four key factors when determining the rankings:
  • recommendations from medical experts—doctors, hospital managers and other health-care professionals
  • hospital quality metrics
  • patient experience data
  • statista’s patient-reported outcome measures implementation survey (proms)
this year’s evaluation placed a greater importance on hospital quality metrics while incorporating new patient experience, quality, safety and accreditation data.
andrew robichaud
andrew robichaud

andrew robichaud is the executive producer at healthing.ca, bringing over a decade of diverse journalistic and product management experience to the team. he is dedicated to telling compelling health stories that matter – from patients and caregivers, to the latest research and actionable information to improve health outcomes.

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