Montréal International hails new Québec cabinet with strong economic background

Montréal International (MI) congratulates the new Premier of Québec, François Legault, and hails his decision to form a cabinet with a strong economic background. The government can thereby count on a solid team, made up of several experienced elected officials or individuals from the business community, such as Christian Dubé to the Treasury Board, Pierre Fitzgibbon to Economy and Innovation, Éric Girard to Finance, Nadine Girault to International Relations and Francophonie, Simon Jolin-Barrette to Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion, Jean-François Roberge to Education and Higher Education, and Chantal Rouleau as the minister responsible for Montréal.

Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montréal International, took the opportunity to extend an offer to work with the new ministers to support the growth of a high-value-added economy. “Greater Montréal has become a global hub for attracting talent and investment, and all of Québec benefits from that. We believe this new team, made up of seasoned managers, will be able to foster optimal conditions to speed up the attraction and retention of investment, international organizations and strategic talent in the city.”

FDI and talent: key drivers of economic growth
In 2017, Montréal International helped 48 foreign companies locate or expand in the Greater Montréal, facilitating a record $2.025 billion in investment—i.e., 15% of Québec’s total economic growth—an increase of over 50% compared to 2016 and 100% compared to 2015. MI also led eight international recruitment missions that resulted in 300 skilled and experienced workers being hired, with an average salary of $75,000.

“Foreign direct investment (FDI) and international talent are key drivers to creating wealth and economic growth,” states Mr. Bolduc. “Although our performance is on the rise, we need to always keep in mind that competition between major cities around the world is relentless and we need to overcome major challenges to maintain Greater Montreal’s leadership and Québec’s leadership.”

Greater Montréal earned top spot for its FDI strategy
Let’s not forget that last week, fDi Magazine, a Financial Times publication, unveiled the results of its Digital Economies of the Future 2018/2019 ranking. Greater Montréal placed first in that global ranking for best FDI strategy, ahead of New York City (United States), Toronto (Canada) and Hamburg (Germany).