Downtown Montreal scores high marks with visitors and residents, survey reveal

Montreal’s downtown core appears to be a favourite both among those who visit the city – and those who reside in the metropolis.

This is the overall finding of a study commissioned by Montréal Centre-Ville and produced by the firm Léger, unveiled Thursday as part of the work of the Alliance for Downtown Montréal.

The study is based on a face-to-face survey of 1,021 visitors to downtown Montréal, as well as an online survey of 1,404 Quebecers to find out their appreciation of the heart of the city as the summer season approaches.

The survey revealed that the city’s core remains a favourite for many. Montreal’s downtown had very high satisfaction rate among visitors, particularly among tourists from outside Quebec who are 100 per cent satisfied with their passing through the heart of the metropolis.

The satisfaction rate is 94 per cent among students, 93 per cent among residents, 92 per cent among local tourists and 91 per cent among workers.

Appréciation Du Centre-Ville – Faits Saillants (VF)

Atmosphere & culture are downtown highlights, while cleanliness remains a challenge

Despite a three-year pandemic creating a number of challenges for the city, Montreal’s downtown remains highly appreciated by many.

Those surveyed expressed appreciation for downtown Montreal’s atmosphere and dynamism, its cultural offerings, the variety of entertainment and free activities that can be found, the gastronomy, and proximity to all services. That also included accessibility to downtown by public transit.

The challenges expressed were the cohabitation issues due to they say the growing presence of homelessness, then cleanliness and high costs of living.

Strengthening the city core’s unique offerings

“The power of attraction of downtown Montreal lies first and foremost in the atmosphere and the vibrant experience it offers throughout the year,” said Glenn Castanheira, Executive Director of Montréal Centre-Ville.

“In particular, its cultural and gastronomic offerings, its walkability and the animation of the public domain offer a unique experience to users of all kinds. It is therefore essential to strengthen these strategic assets that give our downtown a power of attraction that radiates well beyond the borders of Quebec.”

While downtown Montreal is Canada’s fastest growing downtown, this study reveals a divergence of opinion between downtown residents and other respondents.

As a general rule, those who didn’t live in Montreal’s downtown tended to have a slightly less favourable opinion of the city core, compared to those who did.