The results were sent in a spreadsheet including other information such as names, email addresses, student numbers and program choices, but could not be used to impersonate the students included.
They added that affected students were contacted along with the 40 recipients, who were instructed to delete the email. The unopened emails were recalled within an hour.
"We're very sorry this happened. Obviously, not our intent to do this. We are going to make it right by ensuring it doesn't happen again and getting to the bottom of why it happened," Algonquin College spokesperson Phil Gaudreau told the CBC.
Vice president of student services Laura Stanbra released a statement about the incident apologizing to the affected parties.
"We regret this error and sincerely apologize to all affected," she said. "We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again."
