Montreal still lags Toronto, report finds
Quebec’s regions have nearly closed their economic gap with Ontario’s, but Montreal still trails Toronto, a new Institut du Québec (IDQ) report finds.
The research group released the report on Tuesday, The Canadian Press reported. The report measures the gap using gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which tracks economic output rather than household wealth.
Regions close in, metros hold steady
Quebec outside Montreal had a GDP per capita equal to 91% of Ontario outside Toronto in 2011, according to the French-language Canadian Press report. By 2022, the gap had nearly closed, with Quebec’s regions at 99% of Ontario’s. The comparison is between non-metropolitan areas, not provincial totals.
Between the two metropolitan areas, the spread did not narrow. GDP per capita in Montreal stayed at about 80% of Toronto’s.
IDQ economist Jean-Baptiste Vallantin-Dulac said the catch-up has come mainly from the regions. He said Montreal has not necessarily performed poorly. One explanation, he said, is that Toronto’s economy relies heavily on the lucrative finance and insurance sectors.
What advisors should watch
IDQ warns the Montreal-Toronto gap may widen if Quebec does not reverse its immigration policies to attract a highly skilled workforce.
IDQ president and CEO Emna Braham said skilled labour fuels big metropolises and Montreal lags on that front. The report’s workforce and housing findings include:
- Montreal’s working-age population is expected to return to its 2011 level by 2030.
- Toronto’s working-age population will stay 20% larger than in 2011.
- 43% of working-age Montrealers hold a university education, versus 52% in Toronto and 51% in Vancouver.
- Montreal loses more residents than it attracts from elsewhere in Quebec.
- Rising housing costs hurt Montreal’s appeal to residents of other regions, though the city stays affordable versus large North American cities.
Braham said training opportunities and good jobs now exist in the regions, while living or buying in Montreal has become less affordable. She said the goal is not to favour Montreal over the regions. The two have complementary economies, and a high-performing metropolis helps the whole province, she said.
The report ties part of Toronto’s lead to its finance and insurance base, a sector where wealth management firms operate.
The report does not measure household net worth. Nationally, Statistics Canada data show the top 20% of households held 65.7% of net worth at the end of 2025, BNN Bloomberg reported. The bottom 40% held 3%, averaging $81,650 per household. The wealth gap between the top 20% and bottom 40% was 62.7 percentage points, up 0.6 points from a year earlier. The income gap, measured between the top 40% and bottom 40% of households, reached 46.7 percentage points in 2025.
Household net worth had topped $18.6 trillion in the first quarter, Wealth Professional reported. It rose 2.9% to $19.1 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, supported by strong equity market performance, MPA reported. Household debt also eased to about $1.76 per dollar of disposable income, its lowest level relative to income in nearly two years.
Advisors with clients in Montreal, Toronto or Quebec’s regions may find the findings useful context for discussions on local job markets and housing costs.
