Why Montreal Is Canada's Top City for Tech Startups in 2025

While Toronto and Vancouver get more headlines, Montreal has quietly become one of the best cities in the world to build a tech startup.

1. World-Class AI Talent

Montreal is home to Mila (Quebec AI Institute), one of the world's leading AI research centers. Founded by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio, Mila has attracted AI research labs from Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung.

2. Unbeatable R&D Tax Credits

Quebec's combined credits can recover 30-65% of eligible R&D costs. A startup spending $500K on development could recover $150K-$325K.

3. Cost of Living Advantage

A downtown 1BR apartment is ~$1,600/month in Montreal vs $2,400 in Toronto. Senior developer salaries are $110K vs $135K in Toronto. Your runway extends 30-50% further.

4. Deep Technical Talent Pool

McGill, Universite de Montreal, Concordia, ETS, and Polytechnique produce thousands of CS graduates annually.

5. Gaming Industry Ecosystem

Ubisoft (4,000+ employees), EA, Warner Bros. Games, and Behaviour Interactive create a deep pool of creative and technical talent.

6. Bilingual Advantage

Build products for both English and French Canadian markets from day one. Access European French-speaking markets more easily.

Montreal Startup Success Stories

LIAWEB has been based in Montreal since 2016. Connect with us — we have helped dozens of Montreal startups bring their app ideas to life.