About Montreal

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It’s one of the biggest French-speaking cities in the world.  The island sits at the confluence of three rivers: the mighty St. Lawrence, the Rivière des Prairies and the Ottawa. Montrealers talk of their streets as going north-south and east-west, but the island itself is askew, tilted to the northeast. Montreal is situated in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 168 miles southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 118 miles east of Ottawa, the federal capital, 539 335 miles northeast of Toronto, 380 miles north of New York City.

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Neighborhoods

Demographics show that Montreal residents come from 80 countries, forming many vibrant ethnic communities and neighborhoods.  You will quickly detect a distinct British influence in parts of the city, inherent in the culture since the days when English merchants controlled the city’s trade. The metro are has many neighborhoods here is a brief description of a few.

The Main
Splitting the city in half, both physically and psychologically, is St-Laurent Boulevard—The Main, as it is affectionately known. It is here that waves of immigrants first settled upon their arrival in the New World.

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About Quebec

Population: 7,651,531
Demographics
French-Canadian 82%
Irish 4.1%
Italian 3.5%
English 3.1%
Other 7.3%

Capital: Quebec City
Largest Cities:Montreal, Quebec, Longueuil
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
Daylight Savings Time: Yes
Official language: French
Official website: www.gouv.qc.ca
Currency: Canadian dollar

Quebec, located in Eastern Canada, is surrounded by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay to the west, and by Ungava Bay to the north.

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Climate

By Car

Driving in Montreal can be a little stressful for the first timer.  Signage is generally in French, so make sure you at least know those words before you hit the road. Luckily, other transportation methods are convenient too.

Rules in Montreal for driving are a little different than you may be used to.  Downtown, many streets are one way, so be mindful of which way you can turn.  Turning right on red is generally prohibited in the city, but elsewhere in Quebec is allowed.  A flashing green traffic light indicates that left hand turns have the right of way.

Parking downtown is usually regulated by automatic meters.  Spots are numbered, and a nearby booth will accept payment for that spot.  Sundays, nighttime, and holidays are free for parking, but make sure you read any relevant signs.  If it snows heavily, you’ll need to get your car off the street to make way for the plows, or face a fine.

Public Transportation

Société de transport de Montréal
www.stm.info

The city is served by a network of buses and subway and commuter trains that extend across and off the island. Currently the subway and bus systems are operated by the Société de transport de Montréal.

Montreal Metro
www.stm.info/English/a-somm.htm

Fast, pleasant and environmentally friendly.  Each station of the Montreal Metro was designed by different architects with individual themes and features original artwork, and the trains themselves run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most.

Via Rail
www.viarail.ca

VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides several rail services to other cities in Canada, particularly to Québec City and Toronto with several trains daily.

Amtrak
www.amtrak.com

The U.S. national passenger rail system also provides service to Montreal, operating its Adirondack daily between Montreal and New York City.

Taxis
The price of a fare, to which a rate per kilometer is added, is displayed on the taxi meter. Rates do not differ on evenings and weekends. Receipt available upon request. Tipping is customary but not mandatory.

When the lighted sign on the top of the cab is on, the taxi is available for a client. When the lighted sign is turned off, the driver is waiting for a client or on the way to pick one up.

There are more than 420 taxi stands and 4,445 taxi cabs in Montréal.

Air Transportation

Montreal Airports
Aéroports de Montréal Head Office
1100 René-Lévesque Blvd West, Suite 2100
Montréal, Québec, Canada H3B 4X8
(514) 394-7200
www.admtl.com

Montréal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau
International Airport
975 Roméo-Vachon Blvd North, Suite 317
Montréal, Québec, Canada H4Y 1H1
(514) 394-7377

This airport is a half hour west of downtown, just take Highway 20.  It can be a lot longer, depending on traffic conditions, so give yourself plenty of time.  Taxi fare is a standard $35 within the downtown zone.  There are also a variety of different shuttles that connect from downtown for even cheaper.

Montréal–Mirabel International Airport
12300 Service A-4 Street
Mirabel, Québec, Canada J7N 1E8
(514) 394-7377

Mirabel is now exclusively a cargo airport.  It’s about an hour north of Montreal.

Television

Radio

Science & Nature

Centre des Sciences de Montreal
King Edward Pier
Montreal, QC H2Y2E2 Canada
(514) 283-5256
www.isci.ca

This recently opened science and technology centre has quickly become one of the Old Port’s biggest attractions. Along with the IMAX theatre, now part of the centre, three major permanent exhibitions anchor the museum

Montreal Botanical Gardens/Jardin Botanique de Montréal
4101 Sherbrooke East
Montréal, QC H1X 2B2 Canada
(514) 872-1400
www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin/jardin.htm

This west-end park is one of the truly relaxing pieces of greenspace that make Montreal such a wonderful place to live.

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Museums

Musee des Beaux Arts/Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
1379 Sherbrooke St W
Montreal, QC H3G1J5 Canada
(514) 285-1600
(800) 899-6873
www.mbam.qc.ca

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal) is the grande dame of the Canadian museum world. Founded in 1860, the original pavilion, shown at right – now known as the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion – dates from 1912, and the Jean-Noêl Desmarais pavilion, facing it across Sherbrooke St., a Moshe Safdie design, from 1991. The pavilions are connected by an underground passage.

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History

Centre d’histoire de Montreal
335 place d’Youville
Montreal, QC H2Y3T1 Canada
(514) 872-3207
www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chm

The Centre d’histoire de Montréal, shown at left, built inside the old fire hall on Place Youville, is a deliberately tactile and multimedia experience of what Montreal has been like at different eras of its history – elements like lamp posts, fireboxes, a streetcar ride, are brought together to give a sense of the layered history of the city.

Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
350 Place Royale
Montréal, QC  H2Y 3Y5  Canada
(514) 872-9150
www.pacmuseum.qc.ca

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, is a national historic site as well as the birthplace of Montréal. Built atop actual remains, Pointe-à-Callière offers visitors a genuine archaeological tour where they can see the first public square, the vaulted canalization of the Saint-Pierre River, the first Catholic cemetery and much more. Advanced technology and a multimedia show projected above the ruins depict Montréal’s past in a new light.

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Attractions

Just For Laughs Festival
St-Denis St
Montreal, QC H2X1K1 Canada
(514) 845-3155
(888) 244-3155
www.hahaha.com

The Montreal Casino
Metro Jean-Drapeau and Bus 167 – or inquire at the Dorchester Square tourism counter or at your hotel for free bus services, or take a taxi from downtown

The Casino de Montréal is a 24/7 extravaganza of gambling, food and drink. Built inside the pavilions of France and Quebec from Expo ’67, it’s a multi-level experience of roaring, tinkling fun. Bring money.

The Underground City
Many people come to Montreal to shop in its wide range of international boutiques.

The most famous aspect of shopping in Montreal is the Underground City. Constantly growing, the “city” – which links many major buildings and multi-level shopping malls in the area – is a shopper’s paradise in any season. One major section is reached via Peel and McGill metro stations on the green line, and another via Bonaventure station on the orange line. East of McGill station is a growing axis from Place-des-Arts metro down through Complexe Desjardins and beyond.

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Recommended Tours

Old Montreal
St-Antoine St south to the St Lawrence River
Montreal, QC H2Y3B2 Canada
www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca

To get an idea of life in New France during the 18th and 19th centuries, a walking tour of Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) is a must.

A good place to start would be the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel, which is located at the corner of St-Paul and Bonsecours streets in the eastern end of Old Montreal. The nearby Bonsecours Market (Marché Bonsecours), built in 1847, is a testament to Montreal’s influence in British North America. The building, comprising a Greek Revival portico, a tin-plated dome and cast-iron columns imported from England, is a good example of that era’s neoclassical style. Today it houses boutiques and exhibits.

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Shopping

Ste-Catherine Street, the main drag for the fashion conscience and the serious trendies. Want edgy, take in “the Main”, Saint-Laurent Street, which has a wild mix of the stylish, the freakish, the fetishist – you get the picture. If you are interested in the exclusive, the classic, or the more traditional, try Sherbrooke Street from Guy to Montagne, Laurier Street west of Avenue du Parc, in Outremont and Les Ailes on St. Catherine. If you don’t want to brave the outdoors in a Montreal winter, then consider the thousands of shops in the “Underground City”, which includes Complex Les Ailes, the Eaton Centre, Les Galleries University, Cours Mont Royal, Place Montreal Trust and Place Ville Marie and more.

Atwater Market
Fresh produce and specialty items accessible from the Lachine bike path downtown. A great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning in the summer. Downtown, Montreal, (Lionel-Groulx Metro)

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Public School System

Like the rest of Québec province, Montréal has two public school systems, one for French speakers and one for English speakers. The Charter of the French Language (1977), known as Bill 101, restricts access to English-language schools and requires children of immigrants to be educated in French. As a result, French-language schools became increasingly multiethnic.

With four universities, Montréal is one of the leading centers of higher education in Canada. There are two English-language institutions: McGill University (1821) and Concordia University (1974). Their French-language counterparts are the Université de Montréal (1876) and the University of Québec at Montréal (1969). Both private and state universities are funded by the province on a similar footing. The metropolitan area also has 16 public community colleges and 15 private institutions that offer some college-level training.

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English School

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) was formed as an amalgamation of the English sectors of the former Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal, the Commission des Écoles Catholiques de Montréal (CECM), Commission scolaire Jérome-Le-Royer and the Commission scolaire Sainte-Croix. The EMSB was founded on July 1, 1998.

The English Montreal School Board, Quebec’s largest English Language school board, follows a number of core values including those of fairness and equity in its hiring practices. The EMSB is an equal opportunity employer with 4000 employees and 90 schools and centers. There are 40 elementary schools, 17 secondary schools, 11 outreach schools, 10 social affairs institutions and 11 adult and vocational centers. Currently, there are more than 38,000 students enrolled.

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Colleges

In the Quebec education system, the general and vocational college (Cégep) is the first level of post-secondary education. Students wishing to continue their education at the university level after secondary school must first complete a college program. Unlike any other educational institution in the world, colleges are noteworthy in that they offer both pre-university and technical training that prepares students for the labor market. Regardless of the program in which they register, all college students receive general training.

In the Montreal region, 12 public colleges, 43 private colleges, 4 private secondary schools and colleges and 3 government schools offer college, pre-university and technical training.

Several educational institutions in Metro Montreal prepare students for International Baccalaureate (I.B.) examinations. The value and prestige of these exams are recognized by most major universities around the world.

Universities

Metro Montreal is home to 11 institutions of higher learning, including four major universities (two English-language and two French-language) and seven affiliated schools. The region ranks second in all of North America for the number of university students per capita.

The institutions all enjoy a high degree of autonomy and are free to establish their own program of studies, research projects and pedagogical methods. Each institution also sets admission and registration requirements for students, awards its own degrees and hires all its personnel.

Several institutions offer specialized training programs, specifically in leading high-tech industries such as aerospace, the life sciences and information technologies.

Université de Montréal Established in 1878, the Université de Montréal, with its 13 faculties and two affiliated schools, is one of the largest French-language universities in the world.

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Taxes

Canada Revenue Agency
(800) 267-6999
www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Canada has a wide variety of social programs, and the money for them has to come from somewhere.  Canadian taxes are generally slightly higher in total than those in the US, though it’s broken down a little differently, because the Provinces are generally in charge of the specific social programs instead of the federal government.  As a Canadian resident, you are required to pay taxes here.  The Canada Revenue Agency’s website has many helpful tools to help you figure out what your tax liability is.

US citizens’ income tax liabilities are based on worldwide income, so you’re still responsible to pay the IRS on income earned in Canada or other countries.  You do get an $80,000 dollar exemption on money you earn overseas, so the tax burden will be significantly lower.  You can also get foreign tax credit because of how much you’re paying in Canada.  The best move is to let a tax professional help you out with the paperwork.

Mail Delivery

Canada Post
(866) 607-6301
www.canadapost.ca

Canada Post is the Canadian postal service in charge of letter and package delivery in the country.  It delivers Monday through Friday.  Canada Post covers more area than any other postal service in the world.  Standard mail delivery throughout the country is four days.  First class mail will reach its destination in one day.  Addressing conventions for letters are the same as it is in the US.

As of the beginning of 2007, the price of postage for a standard letter is 52 cents.  Canada Post sells “permanent” postage, meaning that even if the cost of postage rises, the stamps purchased for 52 cents will still be sufficient to mail an envelope.  To mail a letter to the United States, postage is 93 cents, and it costs C$1.55 for a letter to anywhere in the world.

Currency

The dollar is Canada’s currency, which is divided into cents, just like in the US.  Often it is abbreviated C$ to distinguish it from other dollar currency. Some merchants in Vancouver will accept American currency, as will parking meters.  The exchange rate hovers around C$1.15 for US$1, or 86 US cents for each C$1.

Canadian Banknotes
Canadian notes are issued by the Bank of Canada, and come equipped with modern security features, like holograms, watermarks, and other technologies.  The also have Braille-like bumps on them to help the blind determine the note’s value.  Just like the US, a “buck” is slang for a dollar. Canadian banknotes incorporate a Braille-like feature, allowing the blind to determine the value of the note.  Canadian banknotes are currently issued in the following colors and denominations:

$5 is blue
$10 is purple
$20 is green
$50 is red
$100 is brown

Canadian Coins
Coins are minted by the Royal Canadian Mint, and feature Elizabeth II on one side, and usually wildlife on the other.  The $1 coin, for instance, has a loon on it, and is know as the “loonie.”  The mint issues coins in 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, and $2 denominations.

Work Permit

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(888) 242-2100
www.cic.gc.ca

To work in Canada, you need to get a work permit, which is a written authorization to work in the country, normally for a specific amount of time. There are certain industries which are exempt from needing a work permit.  Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) is in charge of the permits, which are then issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).  Your employer should take the first steps with HRSDC to get the process moving.

To get a permit, you must:
Have no criminal record
Be in good health
Not be deemed a security risk
Prove that you have enough money to maintain yourself and your family

The documents you’ll need are:
Proof of identity in the form of a valid passport and two photos of you and your family members

Proof of employment in Canada, usually as a letter from your employer, and proof that you meet the job requirements for the position

You can apply as a family to get a work permit and have your spouse and children accompany you there, but they can’t work unless they fill out their own permit application.