For a second consecutive year, Montréal ranks first in the Americas for hosting international association events, according to 2012 data compiled by the Union of International Associations (UIA).
Montréal hosted 79 major international events, finishing ahead of other major cities in the Americas, including Washington D.C., New York, Boston, San Diego, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Toronto and Vancouver.
At the heart of Montréal’s winning combination for international association meetings is the close partnership between Tourisme Montréal and the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the city’s convention center. Also listed in both 2010 and 2012 for the APEX award for world’s best convention center, the Palais des congrès welcomes thousands of attendees for a wide variety of events each year and generates significant intellectual spinoffs for Montréal and the province of Québec.
Montréal is recognized worldwide for its network of research facilities in leading strategic industries: Aerospace, the life sciences, and information and telecommunication technologies. Among city highlights are:
- Montréal is headquarters to more than 60 international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
- With 210 research centers in the metro area, Montréal ranks first for university research in Canada.
- The city has 11 institutions of higher learning, including four major universities: McGill University, Université de Montréal, Concordia University and Université du Québec à Montréal.
- Montréal has a thriving life-sciences industry and is home to leaders, such as Merck, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline.
- Montréal has a cutting-edge aerospace sector with leaders like Bell-Helicopter Textron, Bombardier Aerospace, CAE, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Lockheed Martin and the Canadian Space Agency.
Founded in 1907, the UIA is a research institute and documentation center that specializes in researching, compiling and providing information on international organizations and international associations as a means of understanding global issues.
Each year since 1960, the UIA has issued the International Meetings Statistics Report, which compiles data and statistics on the international meetings held worldwide in the preceding year. The Report considers meetings organized or sponsored by international organizations, including the sittings of their principal organizing bodies, congresses, conventions, symposia, regional sessions grouping several countries as well as national meetings with international participation organized by international associations.
