Montréal

Economy

Montréal originated as trading post and subsequently developed as a cultural and industrial center of Québec and Canada under French rule. Montréal was home to the Hudson's Bay Company and a major center of the fur trade. English-Canadian commercial and banking elites emerged in the nineteenth century, making Montréal the center of the Canadian economy. Its harbor and rail lines made it Canada's premier port and a major center for manufacturing. However, in recent decades, older industries, such as textiles, have declined, and Montréal has lost prominence as a banking and commercial hub. The shift reflects linguistic conflict and changes in modes and methods of production. The rise of Québec nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s provided the opportunity for the rise of Francophone professional elites. However, successive language laws ensuring the pre-eminence of the French language forced English Canadians to relocate or become bilingual. Many took the latter course, but banks and insurance companies relocated head offices or key functions to Toronto. Linguistic conflicts coincided with the decline of older industries, such as textiles. In addition, in recent years, provincial governments have favored investment in Québec City over Montréal. One sign of Montréal's economic decline is a recent decision to shift trade in common stocks from the Montréal to the Toronto Stock exchange.

Despite the departure of corporate and banking headquarters and the decline of older industries, Montréal remains an important industrial and commercial center. Its port receives ocean-going ships, via the St. Lawrence River, and Montréal remains an important trans-shipment point for grain, agricultural, and industrial products, which arrive by rail and Great Lakes steamers. In addition to its port, Montréal is a major center for food processing, oil refining, and the production of electrical machinery and electronic equipment. Bombardier is a major producer of snowmobiles, subway and rail cars, and aircraft. Nevertheless, Montréal is plagued by an aging industrial base, making it difficult to provide sufficient employment for a workforce continually augmented by industrialization. Nearly one-fourth of the city's population lives below the poverty line.

Montréal is the home of Radio Canada, the Francophone equivalent of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. French and English cultural life thrive. One advantage of Montréal's economic decline is that housing is less expensive than in cities like Toronto, Ottawa, or Vancouver.