Greater Montréal intervention strategy

Portrait of the region

Territory and population

18 regional county municipalities (RCMs)/equivalent territories in five administrative regions: Montréal, Laval, Montérégie (10), Laurentides (4) and Lanaudière (2), including 5 RCMs with low economic potential. 142 municipalities. 4.37 million residents (53% of the population of Quebec). Three Aboriginal bands of the Mohawk Nation (Kahnawake, Kanesatake and Akwesasne), as well as a large off-reserve Aboriginal population. High Anglophone and immigrant population.

Economy

Economic heart of Quebec, with 57% of its GDP. Diversified economic structure that has been marked for over 30 years by tertiarization. Consolidation of major employment and innovation sectors around nine industry clusters (aerospace, aluminum, film and television, financial services, logistics and transport, fashion, life sciences, ICT, and clean technologies). 64% of Quebec's exporting establishments. Rich and growing start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Quebec’s main academic and research centre, with notably 13 post-secondary institutions. 70% of the province's creative jobs.

Assets

Significant innovation capacity and infrastructure. Strong potential to attract workers and businesses. Proximity to major markets with abundant transport infrastructure (roads, airports, railways and ports) and efficient and effective intermodality. Dynamic business start-up ecosystem and many effective incubators and accelerators. High cultural and linguistic diversity.

Challenges

Weak business productivity in a context of increased international competition. Economic uncertainty on a global scale, specifically in regard to trade. Sectoral labour shortages. Integrating immigrants and refugees into the labour market. A multitude of stakeholders and complex local governance.
 

Priorities for action

1. Businesses supported by CED are innovative and growing
   • Increasing direct support for innovative businesses in pre-start-up and start-up phases in promising sectors, such as the life sciences and ICT, that target high-potential markets.
   • Favouring growth projects from innovative businesses that are committed to a digital approach or to developing new international markets, in growth markets where the Greater Montréal has a competitive edge on the global scale, such as aerospace or the creative industries.
   • Supporting the emergence and development of promising sectors in which the region has strengths: artificial intelligence, smart cities, virtual and augmented reality, and clean technologies, including electric vehicles.
   • Continuing to support certain clusters that structure the regional economic ecosystem as well as organizations that support entrepreneurship and help with the creation and start-up of innovative businesses, including for official language minority communities.
   • Supporting businesses that show accelerated growth.
2. Businesses and regions supported by CED participate in an economy geared toward clean growth
   • Increasing support for the start-up and growth of clean technology businesses by supporting, for example, international marketing, equipment purchasing, or technology demonstration projects (showcases, prototypes, etc.).
   • Supporting the transfer and adoption of clean technologies, and international-calibre events that promote them and allow for networking between businesses.
3. Quebec communities benefit from strategic investment that promotes their economic diversification and participation in an inclusive economy
   • In the five RCMs with low economic potential, supporting diversification and development initiatives driven by local actors, as well as local and regional business growth and start-up projects that allow for job retention and growth and for diversification of the economic base.
   • Continuing to support organizations that help attract foreign investment and tourists, and that contribute to the Greater Montréal's international prestige.
4. Indigenous peoples benefit from CED programs and participate in Quebec's economic growth
   • Building relationships with Aboriginal communities in order to learn more about their challenges and needs, to make them aware of CED’s programs and to support them in their economic development.
   • Supporting projects from Aboriginal organizations or businesses that contribute to the economic development of communities and to promoting Aboriginal tourism on the international stage.