Montréal Compared: Dashboard for the Greater Montréal Area

Working with the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal and Montréal International, the Institut du Québec compiled a vast amount of data on Quebec’s largest city. This report looks at 29 economic and social indicators to compare Montréal’s performance in these areas against that of 14 North American cities and 4 select European cities. The collected data were divided into five categories—the economy, human capital, innovation, quality of life, and overall attractiveness— to produce a picture of Montréal’s strengths and weaknesses. On the economic front, Montréal lags other North American cities. While the city enjoys many of the factors that support strong economic growth, it faces serious challenges in developing its human capital. And when it comes to innovation, Montréal compares well against other North American cities but does less well in turning innovation into concrete economic advances. Montréal’s greatest strength lies in its quality of life, which makes it an attractive city for businesses.