Montreal, Canada, is in the southwest of the province of Quebec. Incorporated as a city in 1832, Montreal is Canada’s second largest city and is home to nearly half of the province of Quebec’s population.

The Hochelaga Archipelago, also known as the Montreal Islands, sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. There are over two hundred islands, the largest being the Island of Montreal. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic.

Montreal is classified as a warm-summer humid continental climate. Temperatures in winter months are cold, averaging–3°C. With an annual snowfall of 214 centimeters, Montréal receives more snow than Moscow. Temperatures rise to 11°C in April or October. Summers can be hot. Average summer temperatures are 26°C.

• Originally founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city.
• Montreal is a UNESCO city of design. No building in Montreal can be taller than the cross on the Mount Royal Mountain.
• The dominant religion in Quebec is Christianity, which is adhered to by roughly 90.2% of the population.
• French is the city's official language, spoken by 49.8% of the population, while English is spoken by 22.8%. 18.3% of the population speak other languages.
• Currency: Canadian dollar
• In 2016, Montreal had a GDP of about 170 billion Canadian dollars.
   

The City of Montreal is the largest of the 29 municipalities in the Montreal Urban Community. The Montreal Urban Community (MUC), created in 1970, handles police, fire protection, water supply, roads, public transportation, and regional planning for towns and cities on the island of Montreal. The MUC is governed by a council representing mayors and councilors from each of its 29 municipalitie.

The city of Montreal has its own 57-member city council and a directly elected mayor. The city council is a democratically elected institution and is the final decision-making authority in the city. The Council consists of 65 members from all boroughs and has jurisdiction over many matters, including public security, agreements with other governments, subsidy programs, the environment and urban planning.

Reporting directly to the council, the executive committee exercises decision-making powers similar to those of the cabinet in a parliamentary system and is responsible for preparing various documents including budgets and by-laws.

Montreal is also the seat of the judicial district of Montreal, which includes the city and the other communities on the island.
 

Montreal has the second-largest economy of Canadian cities based on GDP and the largest in Quebec.

After having an economy based on the fur trade for 150 years, Montreal evolved into a diversified commercial metropolis, focusing on both international trade and the distribution of manufactured goods. Industry played a growing role from the mid-19th century, and in the 20th century the services sector expanded with the rise of financial institutions, universities and engineering firms.

Today the city is an important centre of commerce, finance, industry, technology and culture. Industries include aerospace, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, printed goods, software engineering, telecommunications, textile, tobacco, petrochemicals, and transportation.

The Port of Montreal is one of the largest inland ports in the world handling 26 million tonnes of cargo annually. it remains a transshipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery, and consumer goods

The service sector is also strong and includes civil, mechanical and process engineering, and finance. The finance sector employs approximately 100,000 people in the Greater Montreal Area. As of March 2018, the city was ranked in the 12th position in the Global Financial Centres Index.

Montreal is also a leading research and development centre, with its four universities and numerous research institutes and laboratories in areas such as telecommunications, pulp and paper, aerospace, software and pharmaceuticals.

Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion.

Public local transport is served by a network of buses, subways, and commuter trains that extend across and off the island. The subway and bus system are operated by the Société de transport de Montréal. The bus network consists of 203 daytime and 23 nighttime routes. The Metro was inaugurated in 1966 and has 68 stations on four lines.

Montreal has two international airports, one for passengers only, the other for cargo:

Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, formerly known as Montréal–Dorval International Airport is the primary international airport serving Montreal. Trudeau is the busiest airport in the province of Quebec and the third-busiest airport in Canada by both passenger traffic and aircraft movements, with 20.3 million passengers and 236,908 movements in 2019.
International Aerocity of Mirabel, known as simply Mirabel, is a cargo and former international passenger airport. The main role of the airport today is cargo flights, but it is also home to MEDEVAC and general aviation flights.