Trade Shows » Country » Canada » Montreal

Business Overview
Montreal due to its location has not only been a major port, but is also a hub for business, finance and transportation of Canada. The city also has been an important regional center industry, culture and world affair.

Proud of possessing the largest inland seaport, Montreal has become the major Trans-shipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery and consumer goods for the nation. Further, for this reason, the city is also the railway hub of Canada as it is home to the eastern terminus of Canadian Pacific Railway and headquarters of Canadian National Railway.

These all reason has withal made Montreal an important international trade and exhibition center of the world. Its classy trade centers including Place Bonaventure and Palais des Congres de Montreal hold many internationally acclaimed expos, Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show, SIAL Montreal and Expocam, to name a few.

The important industries in the city include pharmaceuticals, high technology, finance, software engineering, city engineering, transportation devices and aerospace along with many others. However, it is also a center of French Canadian film and television production while the video game industry is making its mark in Montreal since 1997. Today the city has attracted world leading game developers and publishers studios such as Ubisoft, EA, Eidos Interactive, Artificial Mind and Movement, Strategy First and many more.

The service sector is also strong in the city. While video game industry is generating thousands of jobs, the manufacturing of transportation equipment and food processing o the other hand are also leading sources of employment with over 7000 factories providing jobs for the residents of Montreal. Some other important vacancy producing industries include civil, mechanical or process engineering, finance, higher education and research & development. In 2002, Montreal ranked as 4th largest center in North America in terms of aerospace jobs.

Montreal providing base to more than 40% of Canada’s financial companies, banks, credit organizations & loan companies which provide jobs lakhs of people in the area. Furthermore, the city also headquarters the Canadian Space Agency, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a United Nations body), the World Anti-Doping Agency (an Olympic body), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and some 60 other international organizations in various fields.

Major Business Centers
Place Bonaventure:
The downtown reference for Montreal since its construction in 1967, the Place Bonaventure has been one-of-a-kind single complex, which was once known as a ‘city within a city’. Today it is a renowned office building, an ideal exhibition hall area and is also hosting a first class hotel.

Located adjacent to Central Station (Gare Centrale), this retail and office complex hosts many wholesalers from Montreal's fashion industry and has several connections to the 32 km of Underground city as well as underground links to nearby stations of the Montreal Metro.

The exhibition halls of the complex are the perfect location for all kinds of public and trade shows. The availability of space ranges from 35,000- 201,250 sq.ft in addition to 34,525 sq.ft large main floor and other floors providing a total capacity of 315,000 sq.ft of space.

The Palais des Congres de Montreal (Montreal Convention Center):
Located on the northern edge of Old Montreal, the convention center is built over the Autoroute Ville-Marie and is connected to the city's metro via the Place-d'Armes station as well as to the underground city.

The center provides total 65 meeting rooms and 30,717m2 (300,638 sq.ft) of rental space for conventions and various events. The banquet room on the other hand is the largest in Canada and can accommodate 3,120 seated guests or 5,037 people theatre-style. Furthermore, Palais boasts a new multi-purpose room for 6,513 participants and an 18,470 m2 (198,811 sq.ft) of exhibition space.

The Montreal Exchange (Bourse de Montreal):
Situated in the Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower), Montreal's third tallest building, the exchange is denoted as a futures exchange that trades in derivatives such as futures contracts and options.

Official founded in 1965, MX is Canada’s oldest exchange. Though its first story began in 1832 as an informal stock exchange at the Exchange Coffee House. It is a fully electronic exchange dedicated to the development of the Canadian derivative markets exerting its leadership in the areas like financial derivatives markets, Information technology solutions and Clearing services.

Major Commercial Areas
The Underground City (La ville souterraine):
The largest underground complex in the world, the Underground City is the set of interconnected complexes both above and below ground and in and around downtown Montreal.

Also known as the Indoor City (ville interieure), the complex is specially designed to escape Montreal’s traffic and harsh winter or hot summer. Though it is also promoted as an important tourist attraction and an urban planning achievement.

The total 3.6 km2 of floor space comprise of 60 residential and commercial complexes comprise including 80% of office space and 35% of commercial space in downtown. While the services include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, pair of commuter train stations, a bus terminal and the Bell Center. It has more than 120 exterior access points.

Saint Catherine Street (rue Sainte-Catherine):
St. Catherine is an another commercial artery of the downtown Montreal. Beginning at the corner of Claremont Avenue and De Maisonneuve Boulevard and ending on Notre Dame Street, the street crosses the central business district from west to east.

Mostly all the prominent shopping complexes including Faubourg Sainte-Catherine, Center Eaton, les Cours Mont-Royal, Complexe Desjardins, Complexe Les Ailes, Place Dupuis, Plaza Alexis-Nihon, Westmount Square and Place Montreal Trust, make their home along this street.

Therefore, the street remains a shopping destination, with many major retailers having large stores along the street like Hudson's Bay Company, Les Ailes de la Mode, La Maison Simons, Archambault, La Senza, Future Shop and Roots.

It also has some renowned Universities near it including Dawson College, Concordia University, McGill University and UQAM.