Montréal (06) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Montreal region comprised 1 RCM with the same name and was made up of 16 municipalities and no territories (2009).
• The Montreal region covered 0.04% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (498.2 km²).
• With a population of 1,906,811 in 2009, the Montreal region accounted for 24.4% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts sustained population growth (12.1%) for the Montreal region between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and aging of the population owing to
  • A positive natural increase;
  • A positive international net migration and a negative inter-regional net migration (departure of workers and retirees, mainly to the suburbs).
• Between 2006 and 2031, the ISQ predicts a 5.6% decrease in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 64.4% to 58.8%, which is higher than the Quebec percentage (63.4% in 2006 ç 54.1% in 2031).

Distribution of the Montreal region’s population by age

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

The Montreal region’s inter-regional net migration by age (2004-2009)

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Labour Market

• In 2009, there were 918,400 people with jobs in the Montreal region, a 4.0% decrease from 2008, and the region accounted for 23.9% of people with jobs in Quebec (3,844,200 jobs).
• In 2009, the Montreal region recorded an unemployment rate that was 2.6 percentage points higher than the Quebec average (11.1% vs. 8.5%).
• The Montreal region’s employment and labour participation rates in 2009, 57.5% and 64.8% respectively, remained lower than Quebec rates (59.7% and 65.2%).
• According to the ISQ, the Montreal region is one of the few Quebec regions to maintain a positive labour replacement index. This index is expected to drop from 151% to 116% between 2006 and 2021 and then rise to 126% by 2031.

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $99,297.5 M in the Montreal region, accounting for 35.1% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $81,474 in 2006 in the Montreal region, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Montreal region’s productivity would therefore be higher than Quebec’s.
• A diversified economic base. The key sectors in the Montreal region are:
  • Aerospace
  • Bio-food
  • Nanotechnology
  • Life sciences
  • Information and communications technologies
  • Environmental technologies
  • Textiles / clothing
  • Tourism
• The primary sector accounted for 0.2% of the workforce in the Montreal region in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 1.8% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 13.6% (15.4%) and the tertiary sector for 84.5% (79.0%).

In 2009, tourism in the Montreal region generated 38,900 jobs and 6,443 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• The Montreal region was visited by 5,482,000 tourists, who spent a total of $2,016 M (2008).
• 60.2% of tourists came from outside Quebec and accounted for 81.8% of total spending (2008).

Businesses

Distribution of businesses by size (2009)

Micro = 1-4 employees, Small = 5-19 employees, Medium = 20-199 employees, Large and very large = 200 employees or more
Source: Statistics Canada, Business Register (June 2009).

• The main non-governmental employers (1,000+ employees) are (non-exhaustive list):
  • Financial institutions: BMO, Desjardins, RBC, Caisse de dépôt
  • Insurance companies: Compagnie d’Assurance-Vie, Standard Life, Sun Life
  • Aerospace companies: Bombardier and Rolls Royce Canada  
  • Life sciences companies: Merck Frosst and Pfizer
  • Telecommunications, information systems and software companies: Ubisoft, Bell, Rogers, Ericsson and CSC
• In terms of entrepreneurship, the Montreal region had 38.3 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking 9th out of 16 regions of Quebec (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

In 2007, the Montreal region had 3,733 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $25,494.6 M, accounting for 36.0% of Quebec exports.

• Though 93.0% of the Montreal region’s exporting establishments were SMEs, they accounted for only 49.4% of the value of exports (2007).
• Despite diversification of its markets, the United States remains the main destination of exports from the Montreal region (67.1% of the total value) followed by the European Union (16.3%), Japan (3.4%), Mexico (1.3%) and South America (0.9%) (2007).

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment increased by 22.3% in 2009 to $4,412.1 M, accounting for 37.6% of total capital expenditures in the Montreal region ($11,742.2 M). The region’s public investment comprised 21.9% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 4.4% in the Montreal region, compared with 12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 10.9% in 2009 to $7,330.0 M, accounting for 62.4% of all capital expenditures in the Montreal region ($11,742.2 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 18.1% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment decreased at an average annual rate of 3.7% in the Montreal region compared with 0.9% growth in Quebec.

Highest level of educational attainment, 25-64 years (2006)

* Diplomas or certificates from trade schools, nursing schools, community colleges, CEGEPs, university certificate below bachelor’s level, etc.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census.

Examples of research, expertise, training and technology transfer centres in the Montreal region:

• Technoparc Montréal
• Cité Multimédia
• Génome Québec
• NRC Institute for Aerospace Research
• NRC Biotechnology Research Institute
• Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie (CCTT):
  • Centre d'études des procédés chimiques du Québec
  • Centre des technologies de l'eau
  • Institut de technologie des emballages et du génie alimentaire
  • Institut des communications graphiques du Québec
  • Institut international de logistique de Montréal
  • CCTT en optique-photonique

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Montreal region was $52,883, that is, $16,341, or 45%, below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the Montreal region was $26,368 in 2008, that is, $864, or 3.4%, higher than the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Montreal region ranked 3rd out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers to the Montreal region ($5,311/resident) were slightly lower than the Quebec average ($5,523$/resident).
• However, the percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax was much higher in the Montreal region (21.5%) than in the province as a whole (15.2%).