Montréal is known for having an innovative — and downright delicious — culinary scene. But our relationship to food is much deeper than Instagram-worthy bistros and fine glasses of local wine. The province of Québec is a food industry giant, known for its abundance of high-quality raw materials and its exports to the Americas, Europe, and Asia. But the agri-food industry is not just a powerful driving force for the local economy, in essence we’re playing our small part to help feed the world.
A massive workforce, with big perks
Québec boasts a vast labour pool covering the full range of agricultural production and food processing occupations, which help to serve the more than 1,500 food processing companies. Beyond producing food, we’re also exploring the future of food. We’re home to food researchers, food scientists, and more than 14,000 students in higher education programs related to food processing and innovation.
Multinational businesses choose Québec because it’s affordable. We’re known for advantageous tax measures, which can cut research and development expenses by a significant amount. That’s also why just one of the reasons why there are several renowned research centres located in Montréal. And, with an advantageous corporate tax rate, competitive labour costs, and some of the lowest hydroelectric rates in the world, Québec compares extremely well to other industrialized countries in terms of operating costs.
A fertile urban agriculture scene
While trendy for many cities around the world, urban agriculture is nothing new for Montréal. It has been part of the city’s reality for the past century. In 1936, the first community garden initiative was launched. Today, the practice of growing food within the city is diverse and takes many forms: individual and community gardens, green roofs, edible insects, honey production, and cultivation of fruits and vegetables on vertical structures. In short, we love to innovate ways to produce food.
Montréal’s convention centre, the Palais des congrès de Montréal — a carbon-neutral building — features several ecological initiatives specifically related to food and food production. Their Urban Agriculture Lab is a laboratory for research, innovation, and intervention in urban agriculture. Projects include extensive green roofs and container gardening, pollinating beehives (home to several thousand bees), Canada’s first urban rooftop vineyard, and more.
Also worth noting is local agricultural innovators Lufa Farms. They built the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse on an industrial building in Montréal, with the objective to prove high-yield, year-round farming that is a smarter, more sustainable, and commercially viable way to feed cities.
What’s in it for you
Coming to Montréal for your food-related event is not only about having the cultural backdrop and the facilities that make your event shine, but also about having access to a pool of experts who are targeting global challenges, the type of issues that are relevant to your attendees.
Plus, you get the support you need from our team:
- We facilitate access to a vast network of partners, sponsors, local speakers, experts, and more
- We help your event become more sustainable
- We guide ways to ensure that your event has significant and lasting positive impacts on Montréal’s communities
- We introduce you to partners that will help you analyse the impact(s) of your event
Want more information? Here’s how to reach out…
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