Located in the Greater Montreal area, the City of Longueuil is booming with new life and projects. At the forefront of its economic development is the aerospace industry, a sector of great importance throughout Quebec. Modern and innovative, Longueuil is taking every measure to drive its entire ecosystem towards the creation of Espace aero, the aerospace innovation hub.
Why choose Longueuil?
- World-renowned schools (colleges and universities) established on its territory
- Access to a specialized workforce
- Well-established collaborative ecosystem
- Strategic location
- Business support service
- Land available for development
- Attractive living environments, with a potential of 2,000 new housing units within a 1 km radius of the airport
Strategic location
Longueuil is at the heart of lots of major road, rail, port and air transport infrastructure:
- The Longueuil hub is located only 15 minutes from downtown Montreal
- Access to Montreal via four bridges
- Located 15 km from the Port of Montreal, which offers a direct route to Europe, the East Coast of North America, and the American Midwest
- Easy access to highways (Highways 10, 20, and 30, as well as Route 116)
- Rapid access to Toronto (highway 401)
- Access to Canadian and US rail networks
- Located 30 minutes from the US border
- Easily accessible area through public transportation
Qualified workforce
The region is home to world-renowned research centres and teaching institutions that adress the need for a qualified aerospace workforce:
- École nationale d’aérotechnique (ÉNA): the leading technical aerospace college in North America—and the only institution in Quebec—to offer complete avionics, aeronautical construction and aircraft maintenance training.
- Several teaching establishments: Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and, soon, the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in 2025 with its bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
Innovative culture
Over one quarter of Longueuil business owners intend to invest in technological innovation (28.1%) and in product innovation (27.3%), compared to 11.9% and 9.3% for all of Quebec.
For the aerospace sector, in addition to research carried out by private companies, Longueuil benefits from the presence of two institutional research centers:
- Centre technologique en aérospatiale (CTA): this is the only college-affiliated applied aerospace research centre in Canada to support businesses in the industry on a daily basis.
- Canadian Space Agency: has the mandate of growing knowledge about space through science.
MET – Montreal Metropolitan Airport
The construction of a new, modern terminal at the MET – Montreal Metropolitan Airport – and the development of the airport’s surroundings will have a significant impact on airport services in the area:
- Operation of regional flights and connections to major Canadian destinations in the near future
- Plans in progress for the construction of a hotel to accommodate various types of travellers (tourists, researchers, students, businesspeople, and professionals)
- Attraction of technology companies and highly innovative projects with a “living lab” experimental space (ex.: green technology, electrifying air transportation, artificial intelligence-related technology, etc.)
The aerospace industry in the Longueuil Agglomeration