Entrepreneurship in Rimouski

Find Success in Rimouski-Neigette

Find success in Rimouski-Neigette as you develop your business project in a dynamic environment that offers all the resources you need to make your business a success both here and further afield.

Set Up and Settle Down

  • Rimouski offers all the services of a large city
  • It is the nerve-centre of the RCM Rimouski-Neigette and the capital of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region
  • Institutions provide outreach opportunities (UQAR, ISMER, TELUS, Hôpital régional du CISSS Bas-Saint-Laurent)
  • Close to Gaspésie, the North Shore, and New Brunswick
  • The average income for Rimouski residents between 25 and 54 years of age is $41,452
  • The population of Rimouski is 49,733
  • The RCM Rimouski-Neigette population is 58,048
  • 39% of Rimouski residents aged between 20 and 44 are bilingual

Stand Out Sustainably

  • One of the three happiest towns in Quebec
  • Happiest Town in Quebec 2012-2013
  • Ranked 18th best place to live in Canada in 2014
  • Affordable cost of living
  • Affordable average house price
  • Low unemployment
  • High population growth
  • 600 km from Montreal – 300 km from Quebec City – 200 km from the United States – 170 km from New Brunswick
  • Accessible by road, rail, air and sea
  • Land area of 335 km2

Open up to the World

Realise Your Full Potential

  • Education Institutions that are unique in North America:
    • UQAR
    • Rimouski CEGEP
    • Quebec Maritime Institute (IMQ)
    • Vocational Training Centre
    • Music Conservatory
    • 5 Secondary Schools
    • 12 Primary Schools
  • Attended by more than 15,000 students each year
  • Students from 45 different countries
  • A qualified workforce for entrepreneurs
  • Highly educated population
  • 29% of Rimouski residents between 25 and 64 hold a university degree
  • 72% of Rimouski residents between 25 and 64 hold a postsecondary qualification

Pushing towards the Future

  • The capital of the Technopole maritime du Québec
  • ISMER – 5 Canadian research chairs, first UNESCO maritime chair in Canada
  • UQAR – 15 research chairs, 3 lines of research: regional development, Nordic life, and marine sciences
    • University of the Year for Research in Canada in its category 2011-2013
  • Cutting-edge technology in the town’s education establishments

Flourish in Business

  • Town centre
    • Many public and private services
    • 267 businesses
    • 6,500 workers
    • Diversity of major employers
    • Downtown Rimouski on foot or by bike
  • Carrefour Rimouski (shopping mall)
    • 5 million visitors annually
    • 32,000 m2 of retail space
    • 73 stores
  • Cité des achats (retail centre)
    • SmartCentres shopping centre with 22,607m2 of retail space
    • Walmart, Winners, Tanguay, and more!
  • $1.16 billion: sales total of Rimouski businesses in 2015
  • $573.1 million: total purchases by Rimouski households in 2015
  • More than 225,000 m2: retail space in 2015 in Rimouski

Forge Links

  • The SOPER organises business meetings in Rimouski and across the country
  • Its mission: to lead the collective industrial, commercial and tourism development efforts in the RCM Rimouski-Neigette and in doing so, contribute to its growth in target markets.
  • The SOPER offers you:
    • Advice and support
    • A one-stop information shop
    • Connections with local stakeholders
    • A jumpstart for your business projects
    • Customized training
    • Financing