Contemporary Issues of Montreal

In the late 1990s Montréal emerged from a long and painful industrial restructuring process.

Due to the growth of high-tech and export-led industries, such as telecommunications, software, aeronautics, and pharmaceuticals, Montréal’s economy became buoyant again.

In 2000 only 7 percent of the metropolitan workforce was unemployed, down from 12 percent in 1996.

The language question became important again in the late 1990s.

Some Anglophone spokespersons have asked the government to ease the language laws, whereas some Francophones have pressed for stronger legislation limiting the use of English.

The provincial government has decided to maintain the existing rules, backed by public opinion polls strongly favoring the status quo.

The issue of metropolitan governance was hotly debated during the late 1990s because almost half the urban population lived outside the borders of the Montréal Urban Community.

In early 2000 the Québec government announced a plan to establish a new Montréal Metropolitan Community in 2001.

The Montréal Metropolitan Community would replace the existing Montréal Urban Community and encompass most of the metropolitan area.