Montérégie (16) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Montérégie was divided into 14 RCMs and comprised 177 municipalities and 2 territories (2009).
• The Montérégie covered 0.9% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (11,110.8 km²).
• With a population of 1,428,475 in 2009, the Montérégie accounted for 18.2% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts strong population growth (21.5%) in the Montérégie between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and aging of the population owing to
  • Positive but declining natural movement;
  • High international and inter-regional net migration.
• The ISQ predicts a 9.3-percentage-point decrease between 2006 and 2031 in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 63.0% to 53.7%, which is close to the Quebec percentage (-9.3 percentage points, from 63.4% to 54.1%).

Distribution of the Montérégie’s population by age

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

Labour Market

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $43,548.1 M in the Montérégie region, accounting for 15.4% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $80,772 in 2006 in the Montérégie, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Montérégie’s productivity would therefore be higher than Quebec’s.
• Key sectors in the Montérégie are:
  • Bio-foods
  • Chemistry, plastics and rubber
  • Energy and the environment
  • Micro / Nanotechnologies for advanced electronics
  • Wood, paper and furniture products
  • Life sciences
  • Advanced transportation equipment and logistics technologies (aerospace)
  • Information and communications technologies
  • Metal and composites manufacturing / Machinery
• The primary sector accounted for 3.7% of the workforce in the Montérégie in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 3.4% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 19.9% (15.4%), and the tertiary sector for 73.0% (79.0).

In 2009, tourism in the Montérégie generated 21,000 jobs and 3,323 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• The Montérégie was visited by 2,139,000 tourists, who spent a total of $212 M in the region (2008).
• Although only 9.7% of tourists came from outside Quebec, they accounted for 26.6% 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:
  • ArcelorMittal Canada (steel manufacturing)
  • Groupe Jean Coutu (pharmacies)
  • Groupe Robert Transport (road transportation)
  • IBM Canada (electronic component manufacturing)
  • Pratt & Whitney Canada (aerospace product manufacturing)
  • QIT Fer et Titane (refinery)
• In terms of entrepreneurship, the Montérégie had 35.9 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking 13th out of 16 regions of Quebec (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

In 2007, the Montérégie had 1,629 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $12,904.5 M, accounting for 18.2% of Quebec exports.

• Though 93.7% of the Montérégie’s exporting establishments were SMEs, they accounted for only 50.9% of the value of exports (2007).
• The United States was the main destination for exports from the Montérégie (72.3% of the total value), followed by the European Union (11.6%), Japan (2.9%), Mexico (1.7%) and South America (0.8%) (2007).

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment increased by 40.5% in 2009 to $2,860.4 M, accounting for 26.9% of total capital expenditures in the Montérégie ($10,648.1 M). The region’s public investment comprised 14.2% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 21.3% in the Montérégie, compared with 12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 9.7% in 2009 to $7,787.7 M, accounting for 73.1% of all capital expenditures in the Montérégie ($10,648.1 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 19.3% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment decreased at an average annual rate of 0.3% in the Montérégie, 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 Montérégie:

• Grappe industrielle en Aérospatiale
  • Canadian Space Agency 
  • Centre technologique en aérospatiale
  • NRC Industrial Materials Institute
• Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie (CCTT):
  • CCTT en écologie industrielle
  • Centre technologique en aérospatiale
  • Cintech agroalimentaire - Centre d'innovation technologique en agroalimentaire
  • Groupe CTT - Centre d'excellence des technologies textiles, géosynthétiques et matériaux souples
• Centre de recherche en reproduction animale
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Food Research and Development Centre
• Centre des technologies du gaz naturel

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Montérégie was $30,776, that is, $5,766, or 15.8%, below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the Montérégie region was $26,506 in 2008, that is, $1,002, or 3.9%, below the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Montérégie ranked 2nd out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers to the Montérégie region ($4,921/resident) were 10.9% below the Quebec average ($5,523/resident).
• The percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax was lower in the Montérégie (12.1%) than in the province as a whole (15.2%).