Montreal worst city in Canada for entrepreneurs: study

A new study on business-friendly cities in Canada put Montreal in last place: the city ranked 121st out of 121.

The Entrepreneurial Communities report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses ranks cities using 14 indicators that measure a favourable environment for business owners. Although Montreal did not score lowest on all measures, it was lowest overall.

The suburban periphery around Calgary, Penticton, B.C. and Kelowna, B.C. took the three top spots.

High commercial taxes, bureaucracy, and low support for business by local governments were the indicators that Montreal scored the lowest on. 

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"Does the local government understand the reality of running a business? Most governments get low marks, but in Montreal, the perception of businesses are further down the list," said Ted Mallett, vice-president and chief economist of the CFIB.

Boroughs don't understand business needs

The head of a property management firm interviewed by CBC says a big problem is the decentralized structure of the city. Borough bureaucrats lack vision and don't adapt to shifting business needs, according to Bruce Burnett, president and CEO of Antrev.

"There's a general lack of understanding of business needs. They're very much by the book... The boroughs are stuck in old ways that don't allow variances to existing building laws to let us accommodate changing needs," he told CBC's Daybreak.

However, Burnett says that there has been a growing sense of optimism in the business community since Denis Coderre became mayor of Montreal.

Other Quebec cities

Although suburbs generally scored higher than city cores themselves (mostly due to lower taxes and capital costs), Montreal's ring did not fare much better: it came in at 104 out of 121.

Rivière-du-Loup was the highest-scoring city in Quebec, coming in at 17th. It scored particularly high in business-friendly policies. Victoriaville was second, scoring 33rd nationwide.

Montreal's detailed scores

The Entrepreneurial Communities study uses survey responses and economic stats to grade cities. Below are the 14 indicators the study measured and how Montreal scored in each.

Presence (10.9 out of 25)

• Business establishment growth: -7.4 per cent change since 2014
• Business establishments per capita: 2.7 per 100 capita
• Self-employment as a percentage of total employment: 10.2 per cent of employees
• Information and cultural businesses: 1.9 per cent of establishments

Perspective  (13.5 out of 35)

• Expected future business performance: 61.4 Business Barometer index
• Future full-time hiring expectations: 16.6 per cent said yes
• Overall State of Business: 35 per cent who responded good
• Commercial, industrial and institutional building permits: 4.4 per cent of businesses
• Life satisfaction: 93.3 per cent who responded good or very good

Policy (11.5 out of 40)

• Local government tax balance: 3.6 times higher than residential taxes
• Cost of local government: 57.8 per cent say it's a problem
• Local government sensitivity to local businesses: 11.9 per cent say it's good or adequate
• Local government regulations: 74.4 per cent say it's a problem
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