The Greater Montréal area ranks second in North America, after Boston, for the percentage of university students in the general popilation. Montréal has over 5,000 university researchers.
The city of Québec, recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO for its historical centre, is the only walled city north of Mexico.
The city of Québec has the lowest crime rate of all major North American cities, and Montréal is one of the safest metropolitan areas in the world, with a crime rate of 1.9 per 1000 inhabitants
Quebecers are passionate ice-hockey fans, and the Montréal Canadiens, a club founded in 1909, is North America’s second most successful professional sports team
The Lower St. Lawrence region is renowned for its marine expertise and has a thriving marine biotechnology sector.
As a pioneer in the defence and promotion of cultural diversity, Québec was the first government in the world to approve the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions