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Montreal

Ville-Marie under the mountain

Montreal in brief

Montreal sits on an island where First Nations farmed and traded for centuries before Jacques Cartier visited Hochelaga in 1535. French colonists founded Ville-Marie in 1642; the city later took its name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the middle of everything.

Fur, factories, and two languages shaped neighbourhoods that still argue cheerfully about bagels, highways, and winter. Staircases climb the mountain, festivals fill the streets, and the river keeps score.

Use the topic buttons for permits, tax, internet, radon, hazards, and water when you want numbers for Montreal.

Drawn from Wikipedia.

Permits, tax, radon & more for Montreal

Open the live numbers for Montreal. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.

PermitsBuilding permits for MontrealTaxBrowseProperty tax overviewInternetInternet for MontrealRadonRadon for MontrealHazardsHazards for MontrealWaterWater quality for Montreal

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#18
City Score rank
82%
City Score
5
Owned lists in score

City Score over time

The green line averages OpenStats-owned rankings (radon, permit value, mill rates). Grey dots mark every published placement across all studies below.

0%25%50%75%100%201420152016201720182023202420252026
OpenStats City ScoreIndividual published rankings

Rankings for Montreal

Each study below is its own ranking. Where a study has more than one edition for this city, the chart shows standing across those years only.

Composite · OpenStats

OpenStats City Score

OpenStats

Average standing across OpenStats-owned rankings built from public data (currently radon, building permit value, and residential mill rates). Each placement is scored from 0–1 within its edition, then averaged. External livability lists stay on hometown pages as separate published appearances.

Single edition · 2026

#18
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.823

Only one published edition places Montreal in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Health · OpenStats

OpenStats Highest Indoor Radon

OpenStats

Communities ranked by Health Canada survey mean indoor radon (Bq/m³). Rank 1 is the highest mean.

Single edition · 2026

#36
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 126.1

Only one published edition places Montreal in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Housing

CMHC Average 2-Bedroom Rent — Lowest Rent

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Average rent for purpose-built 2-bedroom apartments (all tenants) from CMHC Rental Market Survey. Rank 1 = lowest average rent among covered CMAs.

Single edition · 2025

#2
Published · 2025 · of 18
Score 1346

Only one published edition places Montreal in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Worth knowing in Montreal

Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.

  • Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it now takes its name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked mountain around which the early settlement was built.

    Wikipedia

  • The city is centred on the Island of Montreal and a few, much smaller, peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard.

    Wikipedia

  • It lies 196 kilometres (122 mi) east of the national capital, Ottawa, and 258 kilometres (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City.

    Wikipedia

  • Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris.

    Wikipedia

Places to see

Biosphere of Montreal

Designed by Buckminster Fuller, this Expo 67 geodesic dome relic survived fire and ice and now houses an environment museum on Île Sainte-Hélène.

Habitat 67

This 1967 modular concrete housing experiment was designed as a new model for urban living and still anchors Montreal's harbour skyline.

Gibeau Orange Julep

A giant orange-shaped roadside restaurant serving the city's signature citrus drink has been a skyline oddity since the mid-20th century.

Oratoire St. Joseph

City law keeps this mountaintop basilica the tallest building in town; it houses the heart of Brother André, a locally venerated saint.

Related guides

Indoor radonBuilding permitsMill ratesNatural hazardsBroadbandWater hardnessConstruction PulseStudies

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