Our members

Founded in 1999, the business development corporation (SDC, in French) Montréal centre-ville is a non-profit organization that brings together 5,000 businesses located between Atwater Avenue and Saint-Urbain Street, and between Sherbrooke and Saint-Antoine Streets. Montréal centre-ville’s mission is to contribute to the economic and commercial vitality, influence, and quality of life in downtown Montreal, but also to represent its members’ interests.

All taxpayers who operate an establishment in the area are members of the corporation and have voting rights in meetings. To find out more about how Montréal centre-ville works and the actions we take, please contact us at: projets@montrealcentreville.ca. For questions about your billing notice, please call 311 (from the Island of Montreal) or (514) 872-0311 (from outside of Montreal). Depending on the nature of your question, a representative will transfer your call to our collections office.

Montréal centre-ville adopts its budget before September 30 for the following year. Several factors may cause your membership fee to be higher or lower than the previous year. During our annual general meeting, members adopt an annual operating budget. Variations in this budget have an impact on the calculation of membership fees. Other factors, such as non-residential property value or a change in value following the completion of the city’s triennial real estate assessment role, can affect the amount of your membership fee.

To learn more about the parameters used to calculate your membership fee for the year, please get in touch with us at: projets@montrealcentreville.ca.

You are liable for interest and late fees if you fail to pay your membership fee. For example, a payment received after the due date incurs late fees calculated daily according to a montly interest rate of 0.75% and a penalty rate of 0.41%. For more information, please see your notice of assessment.

No reminder is sent if you pay in installments. For questions about your billing notice, please call 311 (from the Island of Montreal) or (514) 872-0311 (from outside of Montreal).

Invoices are sent at the beginning of the year to the occupant who runs the establishment as of January 1. If the occupant ceases activities in Montréal centre-ville’s area during the year, no partial or full reimbursment of the membership fee will be issued.

If you moved before January 1, please fill out the following form: (insert the link for the form here). If you moved during the year, you are liable for your membership fee. No partial or full reimbursment of the membership fee will be issued.

Membership fees are mandatory for all taxpayers who run an establishment in Montréal centre-ville’s area subject to Article 458.23 of the Loi sur les cités et villes. From the moment you take possession of a business establishment downtown, you become a member of Montréal centre-ville. Members must pay their membership fee to have the right to vote in the corporation’s meetings. Under the Loi sur la fiscalité municipale Article 236, the City, religious institutions, buildings belonging to the health and social services network or to educational institutions, as well as federal and provincial buildings, are exempt from paying membership fees.

Also exempt are owners of non-profit organizations recognized by the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ), as well as their non-profit renters. Non-profit organizations renting in taxable buildings are also able to request an exemption. Non-profit organizations who are in the process of requesting an exemption must still pay their membership fee to avoid paying interest or late fees.

You will receive one invoice at the beginning of the year, between the end of January and the beginning of February. No reminder is sent if you pay in installments.

If the membership fee is less than $300, the occupant as of January 1 must pay the invoice in a single payment. If the fee is equal to or more than $300, the invoice can be paid in two installments.

No reminder will be sent. For questions about your billing notice, please call 311 (from the Island of Montreal) or (514) 872-0311 (from outside of Montreal).

Changes have been made in the company, how can I update this info? Changes can be made to a membership fee for a period of up to two years, meaning the current year and the year before. There may be a certain delay between receiving your updated info and applying it to your billing information.

You must fill out the form “Request for Modifications” and return it to your business development corporation as soon as possible. While a request is being processed, we recommend that members pay their fee in full to avoid paying interest and late fees.

A taxpayer who begins occupying an establishment in the area during a given fiscal year becomes a member of the corporation and, in the case of an existing establishment, takes over the rights and obligations of the former occupant, who then ceases to be a member. An occupant who arrives after January 1 pays nothing until the following year.

Montréal centre-ville does not have a policy of voluntary membership. If your company does not occupy a business establishment in the downtown area, you cannot become a member.