Over 400 participants gathered virtually for the Strategic Meeting “For an economy open to the world: talent, investment, and trade for a successful recovery,” held June 14 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
The event, jointly developed with Montréal International and Investissement Québec International, served as a space for dialogue and mobilization with actors from the business community to identify avenues for action to relaunch international activities and restore Quebec’s commercial vitality on international markets as we emerge from the pandemic. The Strategic Meeting was followed by a virtual trade show on internationalization, which enabled participating companies to access tools to optimize their international presence and facilitate the recruitment of international workers to meet their labour needs.
“There is an effort under way internationally. There is a great deal of pressure from the business community to have predictability in step with our main trading partners.” – Michel Leblanc, President and CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
“By attracting foreign investment to our city and retaining skilled workers, we will succeed and come back strong with a much greener, more diversified, and more innovative economy.” – Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages
“We have three main priorities for the relaunch when it comes to international relations: the shift to economic diplomacy, the relaunch of exports, and the first milestone for territorial strategies, a stream called Cap sur la reliance : une action renforcée sur le marché américain, the objective of which is to further diversify markets and step up our efforts in the U.S.” – Nadine Girault, Minister of International Relations and the Francophonie and Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration
“Recruiting international talent is an essential strategy to ensure the complete relaunch of our city. These people are a driver of our economy given how active they are on the job market.” – Luc Rabouin, member of the Executive Committee of the Ville de Montréal, responsible for economic and trade development and design
Collaborate for the internationalization of our economy and the success of the relaunch
“Overall, we have come through it well. Foreign investment has never had such an impressive quarter, and Montréal is still attractive to international organizations. The challenge is largely immigration.” – Stéphane Paquet, President and CEO, Montréal International
“The strategic territorial plan will enable us to continue our efforts, but with more resources at our disposal. Our strategy is still to continue to connect Quebec companies with American companies.” – Catherine Loubier, Delegate General of Québec in New York, Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
“We have to extend recruitment missions to the regions, which need the same talent attraction services. Employment is the best way to facilitate the integration of foreign workers, both in Montréal and outside the city.” – Hubert Bolduc, President, Investissement Québec International
The second panel in this Strategic Meeting, “International recruiting, a solution to the workforce challenges available to all companies,” will be held as a webinar in fall 2021.
The Strategic Meeting is available for viewing on the Chamber’s YouTube channel.
About the Strategic Meeting “For an economy open to the world: talent, investment, and trade for a successful recovery”
The Strategic Meeting “For an economy open to the world: talent, investment, and trade for a successful recovery” was jointly developed by the Chamber, Montréal International, and Investissement Québec International, in cooperation with the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Le Devoir, and the Gouvernement du Québec and in partnership with the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The event is part of the metropolitan economic movement Relaunch MTL.