Less than Half (48%) of Canadians Believe a University or College Diploma is Worth the Investment.

Toronto, ON, Aug 26, 2025 — An Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of CourseCompare revealed the overall, 48% say a Canadian diploma or degree is worth the investment, 39% are unsure, and 13% say it is not (positive minus negative net: +35). There is virtually no gender gap.

By age, skepticism peaks in mid‑life: adults 35–54 are lowest on “worth it” (43%) and highest on “not worth it” (19%), while those 55+ are most positive (53% yes) and 18–25-year-olds are least negative but highly uncertain (46% unsure, 5% no). Looking at generational breaks, Boomers are most positive (54% yes, 9% no), Gen X is most skeptical (19% no), and Gen Z is notably unsure (46%).

Education shows a clear gradient, from less than high school (28% yes, 67% unsure) to university graduates (67% yes, 23% unsure).

Regionally, Ontario and Quebec are more positive (52–53% yes), Alberta and British Columbia are more skeptical (20% and 18% “no,” respectively), and Atlantic Canada stands out for uncertainty (37% yes, 54% unsure). Net “worth it” (positive minus negative) ranges from +21 in Alberta and +24 in British Columbia to +40 in Ontario and +43 in Quebec, with Atlantic and Saskatchewan/Manitoba positioned in the middle at +28 and +33 respectively.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between Aug 15 – 19  2025, on behalf of CourseCompare. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Canada, Public Affairs
[email protected]

About Ipsos

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Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

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