City of Montreal

Montreal is a city located in Quebec in the land of Canada. Montreal is the greatest city in the province and the second largest city in Canada with a land area of 4259 square kilometres (1644 square miles) and a population of 1.9 million at its core and a metropolitan area population of 3.8 million. Montreal was made the official city in 1832 and served as Canada's capital for a limited time before an uprising forced the capital to be moved further inland to present-day Ottawa.

The city name originally was 'Ville-Marie' (City of Mary) but was later changed to 'Mont-Royal' after the tri-peaked hill found in the middle of the city. The city is recognized for its finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, culture, aerospace and commerce. The official tongue of Montreal is French with French speakers comprising of 52% of the city's population with English people making up 12% of the population.
Montreal has been named as one of the best host cities for international association events as well as 'Canada's Cultural Capital' by a Canadian publication.

Map Location
Montreal is located on an island in the southern region of Quebec. The island is at the meeting of the Ottawa Rivers and the Saint Lawrence River. The three-peaked hill at an elevation of 232 m named 'Mont-Royal' is Montreal's most prominent quality. The city is named for this hill. The island is mainly comprised of the city alone. At the base of Mont-Royal is a large park area that forms another feature. Exactly the same designer for Mont-Royal park designed Central Park. Montreal hosts countless events and festivals in the park each year.

As a result of the many bodies of water encompassing Montreal, there are ferry systems in place for ease of travel.

The Montreal port is located at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. It then flows into the Great Lakes and into the Atlantic Ocean. Montreal's port was historically used for fur trading. Presently, the port is the largest inland port on the planet and Canada's largest container port.

Weather
The climate in Montreal is labeled as humid. During the summer months normal temperatures are around 26°C (79°F) and are warm and muggy in nature. Winters are snowy, cold and windy with temps averaging -9°C (23°F). During the spring and fall seasons severe temperature shifts often occur and heat waves are a common occurrence. Montreal's lowest temperature on report is -39.9 °C (-40 °F) from 1957. Montreal's highest temperature on record was 36.6 °C (98 °F) in 1975.

Commonly, the city receives an annual precipitation of 98 cm (39 in) and an average of 218 cm (86 in) of snow. Often tropical-like storms may manifest bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

Demographics
Montreal is made up of a diversified group of people. Early occupants included aboriginal tribes including the Mohawk and Iroquois people. It was later settled by the French. The core population of Montreal is 1.6 million people with an area population of 3.6 million people. The bulk of the population is composed of British, Irish, Italian and French European descendants. Visible minorities make up 26% in the population in the city. The age demographic of under 14 comprises 17% of Montreal's population whereas the people aged 65 and older only make up 13% of the population. The primary language spoken in Montreal still remains French (66%) but the majority of the population conducts business in both English and French.