Montreal Urban
Innovation Lab

The autonomous vehicle ranks among innovative technologies currently in development with the potential to profoundly change the way cities and societies are organized. As a result, the city of Montréal has launched a reflection process to consider the impact the arrival of these vehicles will have in the municipal sphere. This reflection will be undertaken and enriched by the implementation of pilot projects through which it will be possible to acquire knowledge relevant to our understanding of this new form of mobility.

The functioning of a city rests largely on procurement, or its purchasing of products and services. While the city of Montréal continues to innovate in terms of its internal operations, it is vital that this innovation be supported by adequate procurement. Over the last few years, several government organisations throughout the world have multiplied initiatives aimed at reinforcing the innovative potential of procurement, whether it be through innovation challenges, contractual clauses to support innovation or the integration of experimentation within the tendering process. 

In collaboration with its partners, the city aims to create a vast public Wi-Fi network on its territory named “MTLWiFi”. This deployment seeks to create a harmonized experience for public Wi-Fi access and provide uniform performance throughout Montreal’s network. It accomplishes this through a unique visual identifier, a single and simple connection mode and a quality of service that is uniform through all access points. 

Montréal considers that open data is central to attaining its objectives not only in matters of transparency and economic development, but also in meeting urban challenges. The city produces and uses data in its internal activities, as well as in the services it provides to its citizens. The more data is made public and shared with the community, the more it will be exploited to its full potential within Montréal’s booming ecosystem.

The city of Montréal is striving to stimulate the dynamism of the commercial artery that is Sainte-Catherine Street West through infrastructure reconstruction works. To this end, the Lab’s mission is to evaluate innovative approaches. 

On May 14th 2019, the city of Montréal was awarded the top, $50 million prize in Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge competition. Driven by the Urban Innovation Lab, this victory represents more than 18 months of work carried out in conjunction with numerous internal and external partners. 

The development of a smart city rests on the implementation of large scale communications and data collection infrastructures. “Fifth generation” or 5G networks represent the next generation of wireless mobility norms and technologies. 5G networks will be able to transmit data more quickly and handle a larger number of connected objects and devices in order to support a multitude of usage scenarios.