As of 2021,[update] the city has a population of 1,762,949,[20] and a metropolitan population of 4,291,732,[21] making it the second-largest city, and second-largest metropolitan area in Canada. French is the city's official language.[22][23] In 2021, 85.7% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 90.2% could speak it in the metropolitan area.[24][25] Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 58.5% of the population able to speak both English and French.[26]
Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s.[27] Montreal remains an important centre of art, culture, literature, film and television, music, commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, tourism, food, fashion, video game development, and world affairs. Montreal is the location of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and was named a UNESCOCity of Design in 2006.[28][29] In 2017, Montreal was ranked the 12th-most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual Global Liveability Ranking,[30] although it slipped to rank 40 in the 2021 index, primarily due to stress on the healthcare system from the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] It is regularly ranked as a top ten city in the world to be a university student in the QS World University Rankings.[32]
^Leclerc, Jean-François (2002). "Montréal, la ville aux cent clochers : regards des Montréalais sur leurs lieux de culte". Éditions Fides [fr] (in French). Quebec City.
^ ab"Census Profile, 2021 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
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^Cite error: The named reference cp2016-CA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Poirier, Jean. "Island of Montréal". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
^"Montreal Ranked Top Most Livable City". Herald Sun. August 30, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. The EIU's annual report, which ranks 140 major cities around the world based on their liveability, found Melbourne, Australia to be the most liveable city in the world. [...] Montreal doesn't make the list until number 12