Study ranks Montreal first in quality of life, last in productivity
“Montreal is ranking best in quality of life,” says Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec which recently released a study comparing Montreal to 14 other cities in North America. Diona Macalinga reports.Share
“Montreal is ranking best in quality of life,” says Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec which recently released a study comparing Montreal to 14 other cities in North America. Diona Macalinga reports.
Montreal enjoys an enviable quality of life, but the productivity of its economy leaves much to be desired, partly because fewer Montrealers have a university degree.
This is one of the findings of the new edition of “Compare Montreal”, by the Institut du Québec (IDQ), unveiled on Thursday. The study compares the Quebec metropolis with 14 North American cities of similar size, including Toronto, Boston and San Francisco.
“Montreal stands out in a number of important areas, such as quality of life and the environment, but it still has a long way to go in two fundamental areas: wealth and human capital,” summarizes IDQ Executive Director Emna Braham in an interview.
Montreal ranks first in terms of quality of life.
“This is a result we’ve been seeing year over year; Montreal is ranking best in quality of life,” said Braham.
By segment, it tops the rankings with the best indicators for poverty rate, inequality, housing costs and homicide rate, and comes second for life expectancy. The only downside is that it ranks tenth for hours lost to congestion.
To determine inequality levels of a city, Braham said the study looks at the disparity between the “extremely rich” and the “extremely poor,” which is significant lower in Montreal than other cities such as San Francisco.
Braham adding, “although housing prices raised in the last few years, we are still more affordable than other cities.”
For the first time, the IDQ also compared Montreal on environmental indicators. In particular, it came fifth for air quality and the availability of public transport.
On the economic front, however, the metropolis lags behind, coming last in terms of productivity and gross domestic product per capita.
Braham suggests that the low productivity may be due to the educational background of Montrealers. Just over a third (36.5 per cent) have a university degree.
“Another concerning factor is that there is about 10 per cent of adults in Montreal that don’t even have a high school diploma,” said Braham. “All this contribute to a lower level of capital in the city and can really impair economic growth.”
The Executive Director of the IDQ admits she was surprised by these results after efforts to reverse the trend. “As we can see, university and college graduation rates are on the rise in Quebec. We’ve made major efforts in recent years. It was still quite astonishing to see that we were so far behind.”
The picture is improving for innovation-related indicators. The IDQ puts Montreal in sixth place, up from tenth in 2015.
“This is mainly the result of the talent we find in Montreal, in the sectors of the future, graduates in the science and technology sectors. It’s a very interesting point for attracting business and investment. It’s also the coming of age of the cutting-edge sectors that we’ve been developing in Montreal for several years now,” she adds.
Related:
The picture is more mixed when it comes to the wealth of Montrealers. They are in the best position when poverty rates and wealth inequalities are taken into account. However, they rank last in terms of disposable income per capita, even when government transfers and the cost of living are taken into account.
The incomes of the most affluent and wealth disparities influence the picture, however. In the opposite situation, San Francisco, with its large technology sector, comes out on top in terms of per capita income, but performs worst in terms of wealth inequality.
The low disposable income of Montrealers should be understood as a demonstration of the improvements that can be made to its economic fabric, where its high-tech sectors have less weight. “There’s a part of these gaps that can be explained by what we ultimately do in an economy.”
Braham gives the example of Toronto, where salaries paid in the financial services industry “pull up total wealth”.
