“After two years in Alberta, I quickly realized that my 17 years’ experience in the garment industry would be better utilized in Montreal. At the time I believed, you know, Montreal to be the fashion center of Canada. I now know that it’s the fashion center of North America. That’s the real reason we came here, in search of better opportunities, and it has been very good for us. And we’ve grown in stature ever since.”

“She was brought up bilingual. And the funny flip side of that coin is, after one year of teaching English in Vancouver, she was offered another position teaching French because she’s bilingual, and along with that position came a significant salary increase. So it’s a funny story about the positive side of bilingualism. ”

“There’s been some research recently that has shown that a Millennial would prefer to purchase something that is eco-friendly versus a famous brand name. So it gives a competitive advantage to some of us smaller, up and coming companies, to be able to compete with the big guys. ”

“I have a lot of respect for Frank & Oak. They started their business as an online company, at a time when e-commerce was basically just starting up. I think they’ve perfected that art, now they’re moving into bricks and mortar retail. And the reason I respect them is, they’ve continued to evolve and continued to grow. ”

“What attracted us to Mmode is their objectives in their mandate, which is to promote the Montreal fashion industry, and really make us world leaders. They’re doing so by forming collaborations with small companies and big companies who have already made it. So, the big companies are offering us newcomers some advice on what to do and how to get there, and we really value that experience. It is a nonprofit organization, but massive responsibility. ”

“I feel Montreal has really turned a corner now. You can see in every part of the city, the city is just buzzing, it’s hopping. You know, infrastructure’s on the move again. People are coming back in. There’s a very positive vibe from the city, that maybe wasn’t necessarily here 15 years ago. ”

“The path of many immigrants who come here to study is they stay, and they contribute to Montreal, and they contribute to Quebec, and they contribute to the country. That’s what we want, right? Let’s not be afraid of them coming to our universities and sometimes there’s a lot of negative thoughts on that, but let’s look at the positive outlook. A lot of these kids stay. They get a work visa, they become Canadian citizens, and they’re all contributing. Helping build more. ”

“Montreal is an incredibly diverse culture. We are multiculturalism on steroids, okay? We’ve got everybody here. It’s a melting pot, it’s fantastic. So the advantage of that is, you get different perspectives from almost every different community. But they all come together in a common goal. The common goal is that we help each other. When we help each other we’re going to achieve something. ”

“You’re right, Montreal is certainly more affordable than other cities, that comes with its certain benefits. I think the way the city has been managed and put together and developed has been very beneficial. The green space we have here is phenomenal. The facilities we have outside the cities are incredible. We came here with three young children. ”

“I think bilingualism is a win-win for both communities. It’s actually been proven to expand general intelligence, you know, learning a second language has probably helped kids do better in some fields than they might have done based on one language. ”

“We won an award this year for one of the best up and coming new brands. I forgot to tell you that. So, we were exhibiting last year at Montreal Fashion Festival. And we won an award for one of the best up and coming new brands in Quebec. And as a prize they have offered us four pop-up stores. So we’re able to grow our brand outside Montreal. ”

“I think we were welcomed. I think that’s the big word, we were welcomed. And supported, and helped. We weren’t seen as a threat. We were seen as people that were coming here to work and add to the community, not take something away. You know, Montreal in itself, I think we did some research on it when we were launching our Irish brand name. I think it’s 26% of all Quebecers can trace lineage back to Irish descent in some way, shape, or form. ”

“Sometimes they want to go back to their heritage and learn a little bit more about it. And I think that’s where some of our kids are right now. And for that reason, they’re starting to get more involved in the Irish community. They want to know a little bit more about the history. And it’s a long history. I think Irish immigration in Montreal can date back to before 1750. So we were kinda right here at the start, right? ”

“Having been in Montreal for a couple of decades, I think there has been a period when we’ve been walking around with a chip on our shoulder. We don’t really know why it’s there, we don’t really know how to get rid of it, but it’s there. And it’s not talked about, but it’s there. So, I think we’ve just turned the corner. And I don’t think it was, you know, we woke up on Tuesday and we turned the corner.

I think it’s been a very gradual change. You know, more like an oil tanker turning in the ocean than a tugboat making sudden turn. It’s been a slow progression. I don’t think we have that chip on our shoulder any longer. I think we’ve moved on. I think we’ve moved on, and we’re now looking at Montreal in a much more positive light than we did before. And I think that positive energy is coming back into all businesses. And businesses are prepared to help other businesses. So I think we’ve turned a corner and I think it’s very positive.”

“Montreal allows you to be a Montrealer, while retaining your own culture and celebrating your own culture. It’s not even that you put it first. You know, you’re a Montrealer first. But you can certain retain your links within your own culture, and form subgroups within Montreal. ”

“I remember coming here a long time ago and thinking big new city, what are we going to do here? But the opportunities were plentiful, like genuinely plentiful, numerous. And I just progressed through the garment business going from bigger to better companies, and no regrets, it’s been fantastic. ”