Diversification and competitive edge

The information and communications technology sector has been thriving in Québec for several decades.

• More than 7,700 companies, including 100 or so multinationals.
• 131,400 jobs in 2009.
• $34.5 billion in revenues in 2009.
• Nearly $1 billion invested in R&D in 2007.
• $3.8 billion total exported goods in 2009.
• In 2010, 31% of venture capital investments in Québec were made in the ICT sector.

Québec's fields of expertise:

• IT services
• application software
• microelectronics
• instrumentation and optics/photonics
• telecom equipment and mobile applications
• video games, animation and special effects

A number of major provincial and national ICT players call Québec home, as do subsidiaries of several international companies. These include:

• Bell Canada;
• CGI;
• Vidéotron;
• Telus;
• Rogers;
• IBM;
• DMR-Fujitsu;
• Ericsson;
• Olympus;
• Electronic Arts;
• Ubisoft.

Québec is also known for its small business expertise, subcontracting for multinationals or providing products and services for end clients. This is one of the drawing cards that bring top ICT companies to Québec.

Montréal is a world leader in video game development. Most of the world's top video game publishers can be found here. Moreover, a significant proportion of the special effects that appear in U.S. films are created using animation tools developed and produced by Québec companies.

Information and communication technology has been at the core of Québec's emergence as a creative and innovative economy. Not surprisingly, this industry has also made the best use of the powerful business and financing synergies that drive this economy.

Research and innovation

Québec has an extensive private and public research network in place, with a critical mass of ICT businesses and recurring investments by the Québec government in various specialized research and transfer centres, including :

• the Institut national d'optique (INO);
• CRIM;
• Prompt, the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT);
• the Consortium en innovation numérique du Québec (CINQ);
• Defence Research and Development Canada – Valcartier.

Tax incentives

Québec offers several attractive incentives, including:

• R&D tax credits;
• a tax credit for private partnership pre-competitive research;
• a tax credit for the production of multimedia titles (Investissement Québec);
• an e-business incentive (Investissement Québec);
• a 100% accelerated depreciation rate on business purchases of computer equipment.

Groups

Industry groups and associations help stimulate development, raise the visibility of the industry and promote partnerships such as:

• TechnoMontréal;
• the Québec Technology Association (AQT);
• Alliance numérique;
• Réseau ACTION TI;
• the Association de l'industrie des technologies de la santé (MEDEC-AITS);
• the Regroupement de l'industrie électronique (RIE).

Montréal International Game Summit

The Montréal International Game Summit caters to video game industry professionals from Québec and around the world. It features an exhibition zone and presentations by world-renowned experts in business, arts and visual effects, design, production and technology. It is the biggest event of its kind in Canada.

World Congress on Information Technology

In October 2012, the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) will hold its biennial meeting in Montréal. WITSA is a consortium of 78 national ICT industry associations. More than 3,000 participants are expected to attend, including:

• numerous heads of world-class companies;
• prominent government representatives and delegates from the academic community.

This event is both a forum for examining various industry issues and an invaluable networking opportunity for ICT stakeholders.