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Quebec

  • Total area: 1,667 441 km2
  • Capital: Quebec City

Demographics1 (2008)

Population of the province

  • 7.700 million
  • French is the official language
  • Highly bilingual and multilingual workforce

Population of metropolitan areas (000s)

  • Montréal: 3,600
  • Quebec City: 728.9
  • Gatineau: 242.1
  • Sherbrooke: 163.7
  • Saguenay: 145.0
  • Trois-Rivières: 128.0

Total labour force (000s)

  • 4,150.0

Employment by industry (%)

  • Manufacturing: 14.1
  • Construction: 5
  • Primary Industry: 2.6

Economy2 (2008)

  • Real GDP Growth: 2.2%
  • Unemployment Rate: 7.0%

Total international trade ($CDN billions)

  • Exports: 69.9
  • Imports: 80.7

Trade and Investment3 (2007)

International export markets (%)

  • United States: 74.7
  • Europe: 14.1
  • Asia: 4.7

Business and Investment Environment

  • GDP of CDN $301 billion in 2008, 60% generated by the service sector
  • GDP per person 18th in the OECD, comparable to Germany and Italy , surpassing Spain
  • Tax rates on business profits among the lowest in North America
  • Tax incentives and labour force assistance and training programs ($2.5 billion annually)
  • Exports account for 33% of GDP , with 72% of international exports shipped to the US
  • Access to NAFTA market of over 440 million consumers
  • A market of 110 million consumers within a 1000 km radius
  • Within a 600 mile radius of Boston , New York , Washington and Detroit
  • #1 exporter of newsprint, 2nd largest magnesium producer and 4th largest aluminum producer in the world
  • The St. Lawrence Seaway offers easy access to the industrial heart of North America

Sectoral Strengths

Aerospace

  • Internationally, the Greater Montréal region is considered one of the major world centres for aeronautics, on the same level as Seattle, Wichita and Toulouse.
  • 62% of overall Canadian aerospace industry production takes place in Québec, where sales reached some CDN$12 billion in 2007.
  • The prominence of this industry is reflected in the presence here of major prime contractors and technical centres such as Bombardier Aerospace, Bell Helicopter Textron, CAE, Pratt & Whitney Canada, ACTS, Rolls-Royce Canada, as well as world-class manufacturers like GE Canada, Héroux-Devtek, Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall Canada, MDA Space, Esterline/CMC Electronics, Messier-Dowty and Thales Avionics.
  • In addition, the Canadian Space Agency has its headquarters in Québec, and is the site of important R&D initiatives in space technology, key among them the development of robotic arms (Canadarm) for space shuttles and International Space Station.

Life Sciences industry

  • Canada is home to nearly 500 biotechnology firms—Most of which are in the health sector, where a total of 67 companies employ over 2,300 people.
  • Québec has the fourth-highest number of biotechnology companies of any province or state in North America.
  • Some 30 international pharmaceutical companies have their Canadian head offices in Québec.
  • The ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world have operations in Québec: their Canadian head office, important sites for fundamental research or major manufacturing facilities.

Information technology

  • Québec has become one of North America's leading high-technology centres. The information-, communications- and computer-technologies sectors are all incredibly dynamic.
  • Software and multimedia companies that are internationally recognized for their creativity and knowledge
  • Montreal is the key site for a number of leading edge companies, demonstrated by several world leaders in manufacturing and research situated in the wireless telecommunications field.
  • A leading international producer of interactive games, animation and 2D and 3D special effects.

Other sectors of excellence

  • Agri-food
  • Automotive and surface transportation equipment
  • Light metals
  • Microelectronics
  • Multimedia
  • Telecommunications

Online Resources

  1. The sources used in this section are: 1) Québec Handy Numbers, 2007 Edition, published by l'Institut de statistique du Québec -ISQ (Data on the population, population of metropolitan areas, languages, and the total area); 2) L'Écostat, Full version, March 2007, published by ISQ - l'Institut de la statistique du Québec (Data on total labor force and employment by industry). (return to source paragraph)
  2. Sources: 1) ISQ web site, Press releases, March 27th, 2007; 2) ISQ- Banque de données des statistiques officielles sur le Québec (CPI inflation); 3) Québec Handy Numbers, 2007 Edition (for Unemployment rate); 4) L'Écostat, Full version, March 2007 (Total international trade). (return to source paragraph)
  3. Source: L'Écostat, Full version, March 2007. (return to source paragraph)