Royal Society of Canada Elects 159 New Fellows and College Members

Canada's senior national academy has named 105 Fellows and 54 mid-career College members for 2026, with the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and Western University well clear of the field.

Sept. 9, the Royal Society of Canada has announced its Class of 2026, electing 159 scholars, artists and scientists from across the country. The cohort comprises 105 Fellows, the society's highest honour, and 54 members of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The new members will be inducted on Nov. 13 at the society's annual Celebration of Excellence and Engagement in Ottawa.

Image Source: The Royal Society of Canada

"Today, we are pleased to welcome the newest Fellows and College Members of the Royal Society of Canada," said Francoise Baylis, president of the society. "Their work spans breakthroughs in medicine, technology and climate research, contributions in the arts and literature, leadership in reconciliation, and efforts to build a more inclusive future."

A national academy founded in 1882

Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada is Canada's senior national academy. It promotes Canadian research and scholarly accomplishment in both official languages, recognizes academic and artistic excellence, and advises governments, non-governmental organizations and the public on matters of public interest. Membership ranks among the country's highest academic honours, and candidates for Fellowship are nominated by current Fellows or by the society's institutional members.

159 New Fellows and College Members from 40+ institutions

The 159 new members are drawn from over 40 institutions, and top ten universities account for 93 of them, close to 60 per cent of the class.

University of Toronto (2026 ARWU 24) leads with 21, made up of 16 Fellows and five College members. University of British Columbia (2026 ARWU54) and Western University (2026 ARWU #201-300) share second place with 12, on nine Fellows and three College members each. Behind them, no institution reaches double figures for Fellows and College members, with the University of Waterloo (2026 ARWU #151-200) closest at eight.

Fellows are elected to one of three academies: the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences or the Academy of Science. This year's 105 Fellows divide into 55 in the Academy of Science, 26 in the Academy of Social Sciences and 24 in the Academy of Arts and Humanities.

The University of Toronto is the only institution to reach double figures in science at 10, and the University of British Columbia follows with seven from nine, or 78 per cent of its cohort. Between them the two supply 18 of the 55 science Fellows, very nearly a third of the academy's intake.

A distinctive profile is the other, and Western University is the clearest case in the class. Five of its nine Fellows came from the social sciences, more than any other institution managed and five times the University of Toronto's single election, achieved from a cohort roughly half the size. The University of Waterloo and Simon Fraser University lean the same way, with three social science Fellows each.

Arts and humanities work differently again, because nobody leads it. The University of Toronto's five is the high watermark and no other university passes two. It is also where the class's specialists sit: Carleton University, Concordia University and York University each elected two Fellows and nothing outside the academy, and several of the smallest names on the list, among them Universite Saint Paul and Harvard University, appear nowhere else.

Regionally, the picture is just as lopsided. Ontario is home to 48 of the 105 Fellows, Quebec to 18 and British Columbia to 17, while nine were elected from institutions outside Canada.

International appointments

The class also reaches beyond Canada. Harvard University (2026 ARWU 1), the University of California, Los Angeles (2026 ARWU14) and the University of Washington (2026 ARWU 16) each took Fellows, as did Northwestern University (2026 ARWU31).

Four more went to institutions in China. On the mainland, the Southern University of Science and Technology (2026 ARWU #101-150) took one. In Hong Kong, China, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2026 ARWU #101-150), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2026 ARWU #201-300) and Lingnan University (2026 ARWU #601-700) were each represented.