Canada's second largest city is home to almost half of Quebec's population, and is the motor of the provincial economy.

Montreal is one of the top three Canadian cities for head offices; only Toronto and Calgary have more. Among Canada's top 750 firms, Montreal has head offices for 89 companies.

Home to most of the province's English speaking and ethnic population, Montreal voted "No" by a two-thirds majority in the recent Quebec referendum. As things currently stand, Montreal has the most to gain from a final settlement of the province's political future.

There are some signs of renewed life in manufacturing, and Montreal has an abundant supply of available workers eager to fill the new jobs that development brings.

Montreal has a number of enviable advantages. Average housing costs are well below those of Toronto and Vancouver. There's an airport with privatized management and 24-hour service and a year-round port. Four universities -- two English, two French -- turn out 30,000 graduates each year.

And Montreal's aerospace, biotechnology, tourism and pharmaceutical sectors are thriving. The high-tech industry alone employs more than 100,000 people; just under 25 percent of Canada's high technology research and development spending activity takes place in the city.

Marco Genoni, chairman of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, notes Montreal is only a few driving hours away from some of the largest U.S. intellectual and financial centers. In addition, Montreal is only a 40-minute drive from world-class resorts, lakes and farm country, and the average cost of living is generally lower than in the rest of Canada.

Montreal has a promising future as a toll-free calling center. There are currently 17,000 telephone-service jobs in Quebec, mostly in the Montreal area, which service firms such as Delta Air Lines and Sears Canada. Because of the high bilingual rate in Montreal, many of the city's call centers take the overflow when other North American call centers are overburdened. This number could be "considerably increased" by attracting new calling centers, given the city's low labor costs, bilingual work force and strong telecommunications infrastructure, says a study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Another study, by KPMG Management Consulting, found the overall operating costs of call centers in Quebec are an average 15 percent lower than those in the United States. In addition, the province has abolished the sales tax on "800" services, and runs two colleges that have established training centers for call-center agents.

--Daniel Kucharsky