Discover Montreal
Montreal (/ˌmʌntriˈɔːl/ (listen) MUN-tree-AWL; officially Montréal, French: [mɔ̃ʁeal] (listen)) is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous municipality in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary",[14] it is named after Mount Royal,[15] the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city,[16][17] and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters.[18]
In 2016, the city had a population of 1,704,694,[9] with a population of 1,942,044 in the urban agglomeration, including all of the other municipalities on the Island of Montreal.[9] The broader metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927.[11] French is the city's official language[19][20] and is the language spoken at home by 49.8% of the population of the city, followed by English at 22.8% and 18.3% other languages (in the 2016 census, not including multi-language responses).[9] In the larger Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 65.8% of the population speaks French at home, compared to 15.3% who speak English.[11] The agglomeration Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with over 59% of the population able to speak both English and French.[9] Montreal is the second largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after Paris.[21][22][23][24] It is situated 258 kilometres (160 mi) south-west of Quebec City.
Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal was surpassed in population and in economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s.[25] It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, art, culture, tourism, food, fashion, gaming, film, and world affairs. Montreal has the second-highest number of consulates in North America,[26] serves as the location of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006.[27][28] In 2017, Montreal was ranked the 12th most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual Global Liveability Ranking,[29] and the best city in the world to be a university student in the QS World University Rankings.[30]
Montreal has hosted multiple international conferences and events, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympics.[31][32] It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics. In 2018, Montreal was ranked as an Alpha− world city.[33] As of 2016 the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One,[34] the Montreal International Jazz Festival[35] and the Just for Laughs festival.[36]
