INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL CENTER

• Abundant skilled and experienced labor in Finance, IT, Shared Services and Transformation
• 110,000 employed in the Financial Services Industry in the Montreal Area
• Same professional designations in Montreal as in London or New York
• 39,000 CPAs (1,300+ new CPAs annually), 2,840 CFAs, 2,300+ Certified Risk Professionals (PRMIA & GARP), 14,070 Financial Analysts, 44,755 Accountants and Auditors High concentration of Chartered Accountants (CPAs) and CFAs
• 140,240 IT-related workers in the Montreal area
• Stronger concentration of AI, Data and Quant talent than New York and Chicago
• Strong pipeline of junior finance, maths and computer science talent with growing enrolment and number of annual graduates exceeding job creation
• Canada’s University Capital: 6 world-class universities, 155,000 students,
• 53,000 graduates per year, 30,000 international students
• 4,000 graduates / year in finance (8,300 enrolled)
• 16,500 university and college students in IT
• QS #1 Student City in the Americas in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
• Over 50,000 immigrants / year. 50% with university degrees.

• Ranked 8th in North America for IT job concentration
• Ranked #1 in Canada for tech job concentration in 2016
• Best City in North America in 2019 for AI Investment (Financial Times, FDI Benchmark)
• 22nd most innovative city in the world (Innovative Cities Index 2019)
• 2,600 startups, 50 incubators, 125 Meetups Groups/45,000 members, “A” grade for availability of VCs
• Global ITOs such as CGI, IBM, CapGemini, Accenture etc.
• World Leading Data Science, Quant, Blockchain and Smart Automation Capabilities
• A vibrant upcoming fintech hub (lien vers section fintech)
• World-class expertise in gaming, special effects, etc.

• Adequacy Status for international data transfer with E.U. and U.S.
• Large scale, green powered, low cost data center capacity
• Booming office space real estate market with plenty of very good and affordable options whether downtown, mid-town or in the suburbs.
• Ranked 4th among North American metro areas in the Arcadis Sustainable Mobility Index 2017
• 7th most internationally connected city among North Americas’ 25 largest metro areas (McKinsey 2018)
• International mobility and open visa policies for specialized workers and professionals
• Lowest cost of living among US and Canada large metro areas (Mercer 2018)
• Most Reputable City in the Americas 2018 (Reputation Institute)
• Second-best city in the world for millennials (Nestpick 2018)

Over 200 international financial institutions have a presence in Montreal with the following being currently extremely active:

The most competitive operating costs of North America’s 20 largest metropolitan areas (KPMG Competitive Alternatives, January 2017) in:

• International finance services
• Software development services
• Shared service centers

Generous non binding tax incentive and grant programs for:

• Financial operations and support services (tax credit of up to C$18,000 yearly on eligible employees wages)
• Technology (tax credit of up to C$25,000 yearly on eligible employees wages)
• Job Creation and Training (grant of 25% of eligible training costs for projects creating 50 jobs or more)
• Scientific Research and Experimental Development (tax credit of up to 65% on SR&ED labor and costs)

 

For more information on available tax incentives, contact us.