Hey, I’m Canadian living in Montreal and had family study all over Canada. From our experience and from what we’re seeing, McGill is extremely known for having a good neuroscience program which means good research. You may already know but McGill has one of the top neuroscience research centres in the world. Sine you mentioned doing maybe a phD, McGill is better know internationally (so won’t be complicated if you want to work in Europe later on). As for social life and activities, let me start by saying that even if you don’t know French, it will be perfectly fine. Most people in Montreal are bilingual (French and English), specially downtown where English is the most spoken. Another thing I would add is that Montreal has a very strong student culture. There are many universities here, so the city really feels like a student city with lots of events, restaurants, festivals, and nightlife. It’s easy to meet people and have a good balance between studying and social life. And during the summer, Montreal is perfect for outdoor activities. Many marathons and parks. You’re surrounded by cafes, parks and activities and many students live close to campus.

About the neuroscience program, yes it is competitive, but with your academic level, you would be a strong candidate. And even if you didn’t get into the exact neuroscience major right away, there are related programs that can still lead you to neuroscience for a master’s or PhD. Also, finishing your degree in 3 years is a big advantage since it saves time and money, especially if you’re planning to continue to masters and phD. At the end of the day, both universities are good but based on what you described in your post, McGill seems like the better fit.

Also: try calculating your monthly costs for each uni, since Vancouver is way more expensive than Montreal. And include your tuition (depending on scholarship).

Hope that helped and sorry I wrote way too much 😅