University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg was founded in 1877 and was the first university in western Canada. It is a U15 research university with strength in engineering, agriculture and the health sciences. Its practical argument is cost. Manitoba is among the cheapest Canadian provinces for both tuition and living, and Winnipeg's housing costs sit well below Toronto, Vancouver or even Calgary. For a Kazakh applicant that combination of U15 research standing and low total cost is worth weighing seriously against a higher-ranked institution in an expensive city. On the living-cost ranges published here, four years in Winnipeg run 28,000 to 44,000 Canadian dollars below four years in Toronto or Vancouver before tuition is counted. Winnipeg's winters are among the coldest of any major Canadian city, with sustained temperatures well below freezing. For a student from Astana or Karaganda that is familiar rather than daunting — and it deters applicants who have never experienced it, which is part of why the cost is what it is.