Foreign investments:        at the heart of Greater Montreal's prosperity According to the firm KPMG, more than 2000 mergers and acquisitions took place in Canada in 2007, with a total value of US $268.6 B. In terms of value, this represents an increase of 50% compared with 2006. Foreign companies purchased 485 Canadian companies, with transactions valued at $132.6 B. The high number of foreign takeovers in Canada over the last few years is due, amongst other things, to the low interest rate and the price escalation of raw materials. Continued >>>   Greater Montréal:        Most competitive among the 20 largest metropolitan regions in Canada        and the United States for R&D operating costs According to KPMG's "Competitive Choices" study, Greater Montréal offers the most competitive R&D operating costs among the 20 largest metropolitan regions in Canada and the United States. Continued >>>   $68 M to provide greater access        to the job market The Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, Yolande James, announced new measures that will enable immigrants to quickly join the job market. A total of $68 M will be invested to implement these measures by fiscal year end 2010-2011, including $22 M in 2008-2009. Continued >>>   Provincial budget: a new income        tax credit in ICT and assistance for the manufacturing sector From a business point of view, the Québec government's budget for 2008-2009, tabled on March 13, 2008, is mainly targeted at the manufacturing sector but also contains some structuring taxation measures for innovative activities, notably in the information and communications technology cluster. Continued >>>   Federal budget: improvement        of taxation measures The federal government's latest budget, submitted on February 26, 2008, includes some interesting improvements to existing taxation measures. Continued >>>   Investments in the        high-tech sectors Pratt & Whitney Canada is set to launch its most powerful engine in history, the PW810. The development of this family of engines should result in the creation of 200 jobs at the company's Canadian head office in Longueuil, and in Mississauga. Continued >>>   Investments in other        strategic sectors Alliance Films, the largest independent distributor of films in Canada, is moving its headquarters from Toronto to Montréal after receiving a $100 M investment from the Société générale de financement (SGF). Continued >>>   1,600 new        aerospace jobs Several studies are predicting an increase in turnover of more than 5% per year within the aerospace industry for a period of up to 20 years. The aerospace industry will create 1600 jobs in Québec in 2008, of which 1430 will be in Greater Montréal, according to the recruitment plans of 221 companies polled by the Comité sectoriel de main-d'oeuvre en aérospatiale (CAMAQ). At this rate, the industry should pass the mark of 49,000 workers in Québec and 45,500 in Greater Montréal this year. Continued >>>   A new aerospace        research centre The aerospace industry is to gain a new research centre for developing super materials. This centre is a joint initiative of the Canadian national research council (CNRC) and McGill university. Its mission is to create a new generation of materials, surface treatments and high-performance manufacturing processes capable of meeting the highly demanding requirements of the aerospace field. Continued >>>   Job growth: Greater Montréal is the most        high-performing metropolitan region in the north-east of the continent With a job growth rate of 2.5% in 2007, Greater Montréal ranks first among the five largest metropolitan regions in the north-east of the continent, ahead of Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and New York. Within North America, metropolitan Montréal ranks fourth among the twenty most populous urban centres in Canada and the United States. Continued >>>   A record for        Montréal port The great increase in container traffic has seen the Montréal Port Authority (MPA) reach a new record of 26 million tons of goods handled in 2007, an increase of 3.6% on 2006. The CEO of the MPA, Mr. Patrice M. Pelletier, is convinced that the transport of containers will be a key element in a strategy that will help the port remain the preferred gateway to the East of North America. Continued >>>   Strategy for        workforce mobility The Québec government and the professional associations will work together to establish a strategy for workforce mobility, for both the rest of Canada and outside the country. The government will support the work of the professional associations by providing a specific fund of $5 M. This fund, available until April 2009, should enable the 45 professional associations to implement reference tools to facilitate the recognition of skills among workers trained outside Québec. Continued >>>   School of Management        renews its EQUIS accreditation The UQAM School of Management (ESG UQAM) has announced the renewal of its European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation. This recognition puts it among the Top 100 management schools worldwide and the Top 6 in Canada. EQUIS is a seal of quality that identifies the best international vocational management schools in the world. Continued >>>   First annual convention for the        Gay and Lesbian international chamber of commerce The Gay and Lesbian international chamber of commerce will hold in Montréal from April 24-26, its first annual general meeting, which will be run in parallel with the annual congress. More than 100 business leaders from 13 different countries will meet to discuss various economic challenges and to create strategic partnerships. Continued >>>   International organization        FAST established in Montréal The recently founded FAST (Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade) has decided to base itself at the World Trade Centre in Montréal with the help of Montréal International. FAST represents financial institutions with social involvement, agricultural producers of sustainable products and other players within the agricultural supply chain. They will work to improve the financing of Sustainable Small and Medium enterprises (SSME), primarily by facilitating access to loans. Continued >>>   View the complete version • Unsubscribe Expansion Greater Montréal is a quarterly publication of Montréal International © All rights reserved Montréal International 2008   VERSION FRANÇAISE         ECONOMIC INDICATORS EMPLOYMENT (M) January 2008: 1.91 February 2008: 1.92 March 2008: 1.91 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE January 2008: 6.8% February 2008: 7.4% March 2008: 7.4% GDP ($ 2002) Q3 2007: $123.3 B Q4 2007: $123.8 B EXCHANGE RATE $ US January 2008: 0.9889 February 2008: 1.0001 March 2008: 0.9984 EXCHANGE RATE € January 2008: 0.6722 February 2008: 0.6785 March 2008: 0.6442 PRIME RATE Canada: 3.5% United States: 2.25% REAL ESTATE Industrial sector (Q4 2007) Center West "Midtown" Vacancy rate: 5.9% Average rental price: $5.37 Sq. Ft. Laval and North Shore Vacancy rate: 8.6% Average rental price: $5.24 Sq. Ft. South Shore Vacancy rate: 7.0% Average rental price: $5.28 Sq. Ft. Office space sector (Q4 2007) Montréal downtown Vacancy rate: 7.7% Average rental price: $12.70 Sq. Ft. Laval Vacancy rate: 8.0% Average rental price: $11.91 Sq. Ft. South Shore Vacancy rate: 5.0% Average rental price: $11.80 Sq. Ft. VENTURE CAPITAL Total amount invested Q3 2007: $103.7 M Q4 2007: $126.4 M 2006: $431.5 M 2007: $480.6 M Life sciences Q3 2007: $46.6 M Q4 2007: $66.2 M 2006: $209.1 M 2007: $225.2 M ICT Q3 2007: $53.1 M Q4 2007: $27.6 M 2006: $164.6 M 2007: $169.1 M Total amount invested by metropolitan region, 2007 Montréal: $480.6 M Toronto: $448.9 M Vancouver: $305.0 M Ottawa: $281.7 M Calgary: $25.3 M Canada: $2059.3 M Amount invested in life sciences by metropolitan region, 2007 Montréal: $225.2 M Toronto: $126.0 M Vancouver: $122.9 M Ottawa: $51.7 M Calgary: $2.7 M Canada: $632.9 M Amount invested in ICT by metropolitan region, 2007 Toronto: $287.5 M Ottawa: $179.4 M Montréal: $169.1 M Vancouver: $141.0 M Calgary: $5.2 M Canada: $1067.1 M Average price of detached and semi-detached houses by metropolitan region in 2007 Montréal: $300,729 Ottawa: $387,546 Calgary: $468,150 Toronto: $486,258 Vancouver: $803,494 Total property tax and public service charges for a detached house by city, 2007 Montréal: $3815 Calgary: $3973 Vancouver: $4506 Ottawa: $4680 Toronto: $4744 Members of the population that speak three or more languages (French, English and other languages) by metropolitan region, 2006 Census Montréal: 18.4% Toronto: 10.5% Ottawa: 10.1% Vancouver: 9.2% Calgary: 5.6%           UP COMING EVENTS Biomedex 2008 Centre Mont-Royal, Montréal April 15-16, 2008 La Presse Career and Job Fair; Engineer-IT Career Fair; Network of Québec Engineers Career Fair Palais des congrès, Montréal April 17-18, 2008 Inno 08 Palais des congrès, Montréal April 21-23, 2008 AHS 64th Annual Forum and Technology Display Palais des congrès, Montréal April 29-May 1, 2008 Elektra Festival Montréal May 7-11, 2008 2008 Annual conference of the Canadian association for risk and investment capital Fairmount Le Reine Elizabeth, Montréal May 28-30, 2008 Mutek Montréal May 28-June 1, 2008 Photonics North Hilton Bonaventure, Montréal June 2-4, 2008 Pan-American Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine Palais des congrès de Montréal September 4 to 6, 2008           DID YOU KNOW THAT... Greater Montréal is the greenest region in Canada in terms of transport. According to the 2006 Canada Statistics census, the people who care the most about protecting the environment when traveling to work are from Montréal. Greater Montréal has the largest proportion of citizens (28.8%) who either use public transport, ride a bike or walk to get to work.