UPEI named a 2026 Best Employer for Company Culture by Forbes Canada
The University of Prince Edward Island has been named a 2026 Best Employer for Company Culture by Forbes Canada.
UPEI placed 28th out of 200 Canadian employers on the list, which was released by Forbes Canada on July 15. The University is the only employer from PEI to be named to the list.
“We are honoured that Forbes Canada has recognized UPEI as a 2026 Best Employer for Company Culture,” said Dr. Jane Ngobia, Vice-President, People and Culture. “Building a strong culture does not happen by chance; it requires intentional and sustained effort to foster trust, psychological safety, inclusion, and belonging across our University community.
“This recognition reflects the collective commitment of University leaders, faculty, staff, and students whose daily actions help create an environment where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. We are proud of the progress we are making together to ensure UPEI is a place where people can do their best work, learn, and grow.”
The list highlights the top 200 companies across Canada that are leading the way in building strong, inclusive workplace cultures. The ranking is based on an independent survey of over 37,000 employees, combined with KPI analysis and multi-year data to ensure consistency in performance.
Employees evaluated their organizations across key culture drivers such as fairness, acceptance, and opportunity. These insights were paired with broader public evaluations and company-level cultural indicators, with a higher weighting placed on direct employee feedback. The inclusion of data collected over a three-year period ensures that recognized companies demonstrate sustained excellence in company culture.
On its website, Forces said that it partnered with the market research firm Statista and surveyed more than 37,000 Canadian-based employees at companies with at least 500 people in the country. Survey respondents, who remained anonymous, were asked if they would recommend their employer to others and to rate it on aspects of company culture including fairness, inclusivity, and opportunity.
“For instance, participants were asked whether their employer recognizes good performance, supports a healthy work-life balance, values input from employees across the organization, encourages collaboration and provides avenues to advance,” said Forbes.
They were also asked if they would recommend their previous employers within the past two years and those they knew through industry experience or through friends or family who worked there. Data from the past three years of Forbes-Statista employee surveys were incorporated into a scoring system, with heavier weights placed on the more recent data and recommendations from current employees. Scores were calculated for each company, and the 200 organizations with the highest scores made the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers For Company Culture 2026.
