Montreal's McGill University again took the top spot in Maclean's magazine's annual rankings of Canadian universities, released today, in the medical/doctoral category. The University of Toronto ranked second. It's the fifth straight year that McGill topped the list, mainly because its faculty has the highest per-capita performance in winning research grants and awards. In the comprehensive category, Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, retained its top ranking, followed by the Universities of Victoria and of Waterloo. Mount Allison University, in New Brunswick, took the honors in the primarily undergraduate category, finishing ahead of Acadia University and the University of Northern British Columbia. In the reputational survey, Waterloo ranked first, scoring better than McGill, Toronto, and the Universities of Alberta and of British Columbia among professionals asked to rank ...

The University of Regina, in Saskatchewan, has so much confidence in its graduates that it's giving them a job guarantee with their degrees. According to a news release issued today, the university promises students who complete the new UR Guarantee program's requirements that they will get a "a great job within six months of graduation" or they can return to the university for an additional 30 hours of free credit-bearing courses.

The board of Thompson Rivers University, in British Columbia, has sacked Kathleen Scherf, its exuberant president, who during her one year in office was known for calling people "dude" and boldly streaking her hair, according to CBC News. The board was vague on why she had been fired but denied that her personal style was the reason. Ms. Scherf, a former theater professor, sent a fax to the local news media noting that the board has the authority to terminate a president without cause because a president serves at the board's pleasure. She said that, during her time in office, fund raising had increased 342 percent and the university had landed Canada's first new law school in 35 years.

The Toronto police have filed three charges, including mischief and possession of an explosive, against a Centennial College student who parked a van stuffed with pipes and wires near a propane depot while in class nearby, according to the CBC News. The badly parked vehicle drew the police's attention and led to a five-hour evacuation of more than a square mile. The van was towed away for further checks by the bomb squad. When the student returned to find his van missing, he called the police to report it stolen, saying it had an alternative-fuel system.

A Canadian judge has ordered Google and the country's two main Internet-service providers to hand over the names of people who sent e-mail messages alleging that York University's president, Mamdouh Shoukri, "perpetrated an outrageous fraud" when he announced the appointment of a new dean last January. The judge ordered the unmasking last week, according to The National Post, but said the university could use the names only for the purpose of commencing litigation.