World City Guide

Business

Business Profile
Quebec City’s importance as a port has declined since the heady days when much of Canada’s fur trade passed through its wharves and, later, the timber used for shipbuilding and pulp for paper processing. Yet it still moves over 15 million tonnes of cargo. Today, tourism and government are the mainstay of the economy and this is reflected in the labour market, where 86% of the working population is involved in the tertiary sector. Manufacturing and other secondary industries make up much of the rest – the region is the second most important in Canada for pulp and paper processing – although there is an increasing trend towards new technologies. The key sectors are the biomedical, information technology, geomatics, environmental technology, bio-food, building materials, metal, mineral and advanced materials industries. These are bolstered by some 100 research centres, including the National Optics Institute and the CHUL biomedical research centre at Université Laval (founded in 1663), which is also home to the Geomatics Research Centre, grouping everything from digitised mapping to GPS technologies.

Quebec City has four million visitors a year, including the groups of tourists arriving on the many cruise ships that dock there. The city’s role as a conference destination was put to the test during the Summit of the Americas in April 2001 and the World Ecotourism Summit the following year.

In terms of influence, Quebec City is home to the majority of government ministries as well as the National Assembly itself and is the principal regional centre for the eastern part of the province. Government activity is concentrated around Parliament Hill, just to the west of Old Quebec, while down the hill in the St Roch area, Quebec’s National Centre for New Technologies (CNNTQ) is beginning to take shape.

Unemployment has improved markedly, compared to the rest of the country, with a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.7% in November 2002, compared to 8.6% in the province as a whole and the Canadian national average of 7.5%.

Business Etiquette
Although more English is spoken in the business world than on the streets, a few words of French before switching to English will ensure a much better reception than launching into English straight away. Translations of certain key items, such as executive summaries, would be considered a beau geste. Due to the touchy political situation, it is best for visitors to avoid discussing language rights or the sovereignty movement.

Standard international business courtesies should be observed, although businesspeople in Quebec City are less formal than Europeans and usually use first names after the initial introduction. When speaking French in a business context, it is best for one to use ‘vous’ until the other party uses the less formal ‘tu’; after that, lapsing back into ‘vous’ is considered bad form. Business cards are exchanged either at the beginning or end of the first meeting. Both men and women generally wear suits but short-sleeved shirts are acceptable in summer. Business hours are generally 0900–1700 weekdays. Breakfast and lunch meetings are more common than evening meetings.