Economic Development: Montréal-Nord launches its first action plan

MONTRÉAL – Create a business directory, launch a program for terraces, promote local buying: these are some of the actions of the first economic development plan of the borough of Montreal-North, who wants to do retail business one of its priorities for the next five years.

After two years of consultations with more than 200 professionals and experts, the borough launched Thursday its collective economic development plan 2018-2023, designed with 13 partners, in the presence of the mayor Christine Black and the head of economic development committee executive, Robert Beaudry.

"Montréal-Nord is in full renewal," writes Ms. Black. With projects like the SRB Pie-XI, the borough is transforming and becoming a growing business destination. "

The borough wants to build on its strengths, such as its strategic location, its young and immigrant population and its available spaces in order to develop its commercial offering, modernize its employment zones and increase its attractiveness.

He also wants to forget his outskirts of the outskirts and defeat his reputation for insecurity and violence "in the media."

Three priority sectors

To achieve this, Montréal-Nord wants to support, among other things, three economic sectors, namely manufacturing production, the social economy and retail trade.

"Do not let go of retail in Montreal North or elsewhere. That's what makes a heart, a soul, something happen. It creates a great dynamic in the borough, "said Roberto Natale of the Charcuterie Noël, in a video presented at the launch.

The borough therefore wishes to encourage "the renewal of commercial arteries" by designing, for example, a program to create terraces on the arteries, by supporting the establishment of voluntary trade badociations, by deploying a campaign to promote tourism. local purchase and by establishing a "Revitalization Fund for Commercial Arteries".

Retail businesses account for 20% of jobs in the borough, according to Christine Black, and 18% of Montreal-North businesses operate in this sector according to the plan.

The Montreal-North Community Economic Development Corporation received $ 266,000 on Thursday to help local businesses on Charleroi, Monselet, Fleury, Pie-IX and some northeastern streets in 2019. .

The 54-share plan still notes the borough's challenges such as a high unemployment rate, "commercial leakage" to Laval and the North Shore, a limited public transit offer and unequal access. to a very high speed internet network – which can limit businesses to settle.