Nearly $29 billion of Greater Montreal’s GDP is attributable to the economic contribution of university graduates in the metropolis, according to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
In 2016, the CCMM produced the report The contribution of Greater Montreal universities to the Quebec economy. A recent data update confirms once again that the university sector represents an “essential driver” of Greater Montreal’s economic spinoffs, said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the CCMM, at a press conference on Tuesday.
“The university sector is strongly responsible for innovation in Quebec,” he says. Some 40% of research and development was carried out in the higher education sector in 2020, the study reveals. Two-thirds were conducted in Greater Montreal.
The economic benefits are not negligible: each year, university activities catalyze $5.3 billion, according to Mr. Leblanc.
In the 2019-2020 academic year, the study calculates, the economic impact from university investments was $4.3 billion. The Chamber of Commerce estimates the economic contribution of sectors “closely linked to the presence of university graduates” at 60 billion.
Montreal, the first student city in the country
Last July, the city of Montreal was selected as the top student city in Canada for the sixth time. Every year, Montreal welcomes nearly 173,000 graduate students, or 73% of all students in Quebec.
In recent years, the proportion of graduates has been growing in Montreal, mainly due to the growing number of foreign students, which has increased by 34% since 2014. The higher the rate of graduates, the more GDP per capita increases. rises upwards, confirms the CCMM study.
Obtaining a university degree is one of the “most profitable investments”, according to Michel Leblanc. That’s a 16.1% annual return over working life, the study says.
Moreover, jobs that do not require any post-secondary education are becoming increasingly rare, points out Michel Leblanc. Jobs that only require a high school diploma are down 7%. There is a 63% growth in jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree, and 108% for those requiring a higher diploma, indicates the CCMM.