Montréal is known for having an innovative — and downright delicious — culinary scene. But our relationship to food is much deeper than feed-worthy bistros and fine glasses of local wine. The city has officially been deemed a world capital of urban agriculture, thanks to a recent study made by the AU/LAB (the Laboratoire de l’agriculture urbaine) comparing 10 major world metropolises.
Why a world capital?
The AU/LAB study placed Montréal ahead of international cities including Brussels, London, Paris New York, Toronto and Vancouver on the urban agriculture front, based on the dynamism of their industry, their geographic distribution and how often they’re mentioned in media as exemplars of urban agriculture excellence.
The fact is that 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. The local agri-food industry isn’t just a powerful driving force for the local economy, it helps us play a small part to help feed the world.
“Thanks to a daring urban agriculture strategy, Montréal is able to provide a local and sustainable agriculture that depends on the innovation and expertise of its businesses,” says Montréal mayor Valérie Plante. “This title of world capital in urban agriculture confirms our international leadership in sustainable development and helps spread nature’s abundance across the metropolis.”
Montréal’s massive agri-food workforce
The urban agriculture scene boasts at least 270 organizations, including 57 urban farms. It dovetails perfectly into a wider agri-food industry that’s thriving: 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 that can cut research and development expenses by a significant amount. That’s also 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.
An urban agriculture scene with deep roots
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 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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