Montréal

Montreal is the principal and largest city of Quebec. A major island and port metropolis on the St. Lawrence River, at the foot of the Lachine Rapids, it is the second-largest city in Canada (with 2,200,807 inhabitants in 2024), after Toronto, and the largest French-speaking city in the Americas. Its urban area, the Greater Montreal Area, encompasses nearly 4.3 million inhabitants, representing approximately half of Quebec's population. Montreal is one of North America's major metropolitan areas and a significant hub for finance, knowledge, culture, and the aerospace industry. It is often considered one of the most beautiful cultural cities in North America. Montreal is home to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The city owes its name to Mount Royal, which overlooks the city's business district and historic center, both located in the Ville-Marie borough. Montreal is divided into 19 boroughs that cover three-quarters of the Island of Montreal, most of the Hochelaga Archipelago, as well as Île Bizard, Île des Sœurs, Île Sainte-Hélène, and Île Notre-Dame. There are over 1.8 million inhabitants within the city limits. French, the official language of administration, is the language spoken by the majority of the population. However, English and other languages ​​also play a significant role; half of Montrealers are bilingual and nearly a quarter are trilingual.

The economic, commercial, and financial heart of Quebec, the city boasts over 400 corporate headquarters and numerous industrial clusters. Considered the "best student city" in the world by international rankings, often tied with Vienna and Melbourne, and the "university metropolis of Canada" with six universities and 450 research centres, Montreal is also a major cultural hub for video games, film, and design. The city's public transportation system, including a metro, is one of the most efficient, fastest, and most punctual in North America. Montreal-Trudeau International Airport welcomes more than 21 million passengers annually. The Montreal region is the gateway for immigration to Quebec. In 2023, approximately 67% of immigrants who had settled in Quebec in the previous decade resided in Montreal and its immediate suburbs.

Host of Expo 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics, Montreal hosts the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix every year and numerous festivals, such as the International Jazz Festival, the Francos, and Just for Laughs. The Canadiens are the oldest hockey team in the world still in operation, without interruption.

Montreal is considered a global city.