Average IQ in Canada: By Province, Age and vs the US
The average IQ in Canada is roughly 100, based on the country tables you see online, which puts Canadians in the same range as the US and the UK. That said, those tables are built from mixed, often dated data, and there's no official government figure for Canada's average IQ, by province or otherwise.
A national average won't tell you anything about your own reasoning. If you want to see where you're strong and where you're slipping, IQ Tester finds your weak spots across four kinds of reasoning: Find my weak spots.
Average IQ in Canada: short answer
- Canada's average IQ in most tables: about 99-100.
- By design: IQ tests are scaled so the average is 100 for the group they're normed on.
- Official source: none. Statistics Canada doesn't publish an IQ figure.
- By province: no reliable data exists.
So when a TikTok says "Canada ranks #X in IQ," the real question is: ranked by whom, using what?
Where country IQ numbers come from
The famous tables
Most "IQ by country" lists, including the ones on World Population Review and a lot of Reddit posts, trace back to datasets compiled by psychologists Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen and later updates by others. They gathered IQ and school-test results from many countries and put them on one scale.
Why researchers criticize them
These tables have serious problems, and lots of researchers have said so:
- Mixed tests. Different countries' numbers come from different tests, years and age groups.
- Small or unrepresentative samples. Some country scores rest on a few hundred people who may not represent the whole population.
- Old data. Some figures are decades old.
- Education effects. Scores depend heavily on schooling, health and test familiarity, not just "smarts."
For rich countries with good schools, like Canada, the US and the UK, the tables tend to land in roughly the same range. That's about all they can reliably tell you.
What Canada does use
Canadian psychologists who give clinical IQ tests use versions normed on Canadians. For example, the WISC-V, a common children's IQ test, has Canadian norms. Those norms set the Canadian average at 100, by design, but they're not published as a "Canada's IQ" ranking.
Canada vs US vs UK
Here's how the average IQ level in Canada compares in the commonly cited tables. These are ballpark, and small gaps aren't meaningful.
| Country | Typical figure in online tables | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | ~99-100 | Strong schools, high education levels |
| United States | ~97-99 | Big, very diverse population |
| United Kingdom | ~99-100 | Similar range to Canada |
Average IQ Canada vs US
The gap in these tables is a couple of points at most, which is smaller than the error in the data. Saying "Canadians are smarter than Americans" based on this is a meme, not a finding. Sorry, group chat.
Average IQ Canada vs UK
Basically tied in most lists. Both countries have similar schooling systems and healthcare, which is the kind of thing that pushes national scores up.
By province: what data exists (and doesn't)
People love searching the average IQ in Ontario, Quebec, BC or Alberta. Here's the truth: there's no reliable average IQ by province in Canada. No one has tested a big, representative sample in every province using the same IQ test.
What does exist:
- School test results. Canada takes part in PISA, an international test of 15-year-olds in reading, math and science. PISA reports Canadian results by province. It's not an IQ test, but it's the closest real comparison you'll find.
- Provincial exams. Each province runs its own assessments, which differ too much to compare cleanly.
If a website gives you a precise "Alberta IQ: 102.3," ask where it came from. Usually it's made up or loosely converted from school scores.
Average IQ in Canada by age
This one's simpler than people think. IQ is scored against people your own age, so the average IQ in Canada by age is 100 at every age, whether you're 14 or 40.
- A 13-year-old in grade 8 is compared with other 13-year-olds.
- A 17-year-old in grade 12 is compared with other 17-year-olds.
- An adult is compared with adults in their age band.
So "what is a good IQ for a teenager in Canada" is the same as anywhere: around 100 is average, 110-119 is above average, and 120+ is high.
Why national averages say little about you
Here's the part that actually matters. Even if Canada's average IQ were exactly 100, the range inside the country is huge. Roughly two out of three people score between 85 and 115, and the rest spread out on both sides. Knowing someone's from Toronto, Vancouver or a small town in Saskatchewan tells you almost nothing about their reasoning.
What tells you more:
- Your own profile. Are you better at number patterns or words? Logic or visual puzzles?
- Your habits. Sleep, reading, practice and focus all affect how you perform on the day.
- Your weak spot. Most people have one area dragging their score down.
Trying to figure that out on your own is tough. A grade in school math doesn't separate "slow at mental math" from "confused by the logic."
Guessing your own weak spot is the hard part. IQ Tester gives you 20 untimed questions across number series, verbal analogy, logic and pattern, shows your score band and category strengths, then its guides give you a short daily drill for the area that needs it. Find my weak spots
If you're into group comparisons, we've also looked at professions like the average IQ of a teacher and average IQ of a lawyer, including how Canadian routes compare.
Skip the national average and check your own
The average IQ in Canada is a rough, borrowed number that says almost nothing about you. Take IQ Tester's 20 untimed questions, sign in with Google or Apple, and see your score band and category strengths, then drill whatever's weakest.
FAQ
What is the average IQ in Canada?
Most country tables put Canada's average IQ around 99-100. There's no official Canadian government figure, and the tables mix different tests and years. By how IQ tests are built, the average for any normed group is 100.
Is the average IQ in Canada higher than in the US?
In common online tables, Canada sometimes sits a point or two above the US. That gap is smaller than the error in the data, so it doesn't mean Canadians are smarter. Both countries land in a similar range.
What is the average IQ by province in Canada?
There's no reliable average IQ by province. No one has given the same IQ test to representative samples in every province. The closest comparison is PISA school results, which measure reading, math and science, not IQ.
What is a good IQ score in Canada?
The same as anywhere: 100 is average, 110-119 is above average, and 120 or more is high. Scores are compared with people your own age. A single number also hides which reasoning skills are strong or weak.
What is the average IQ of a Canadian teenager?
It's 100, because IQ tests compare teens only with other teens their age. That's true for a grade 9 student in Ontario or a grade 12 student in BC. Individual scores vary a lot around that average.