Why locate in Montréal?

There are lots of reasons for locating your business in Montréal

Montréal is a strategic geographic location for any business. Cosmopolitan and multicultural, Greater Montréal is a leading financial, industrial, commercial and cultural centre. In fact, Montréal is the only large bilingual city in North America.

A mosaic of neighbourhoods make for great quality of life. Montréal is a vibrant, inspiring city for entrepreneurs looking to create and succeed.

Montréal, a cosmopolitan metropolis

• Covering 500 km2 with 267 km of shoreline
• 1.9 million inhabitants
• 16 municipalities, including the city of Montréal, itself consisting of 19 boroughs

Montréal, a creative international city

• 68 international organizations
• One of the top cities for international conventions in North America
• A choice destination for eco-friendly international events
• Close to 2,000 foreign subsidiaries
• Major cultural and sports events

Montréal, an excellent geographic location

• Near the United States
• Access to the St. Lawrence and one of the largest ports in North America
• Direct air connections to 140 international destinations from Montréal-Trudeau airport

Montréal, a highly skilled labour force

• 1.2 million jobs
• 60% of Montréalers have college or university degrees
• 2nd city in North America for the number of university students per capita
• 57% of Montréalers are bilingual (French-English) and 20% are trilingual
• Canada's university capital
• 11 large universities and specialized schools
• A diverse population, with 40,000 immigrants arriving every year

Montréal, a dense and efficient urban transit system

• 3rd most-used metro (subway) system in North America, with 68 stations on 4 lines
• 200 bus routes
• Among the top 10 cycling cities in the world, with over 550 km of bike paths
• A self-serve bike system with 460 stations and 5,200 bicycles in use
• A 31-km underground pedestrian network, used by 500,000 people daily

Montréal, a vast network of organizations supporting entrepreneurship

• Access to consulting services, from start-up to growth
• Access to a variety of financing programs
• Access to a broad range of training and workshops

Montréal, a variety of high value-added industries

• 64,000 businesses
• Canada’s R&D capital, with 200 research centres
• Many leading-edge industries and advanced technologies:
  • telecommunications
  • aerospace
  • pharmaceuticals
  • finance
  • biotechnology
  • digital
  • design and fashion
  • information and communications technologies
  • bio-food
  • transportation and logistics
  • culture

With its bold entrepreneurial community, Montréal offers fertile ground for innovative projects.