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BMO Financial Group, today, is celebrating the 190th anniversary of its presence in Quebec City. BMO customers are invited to join the party at the main BMO Bank of Montreal branch in Quebec City, located at 500 Grande-All�e. A birthday cake and refreshments will be served between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. BMO's history and success in Quebec City will be reinforced when the bank holds its 190th Annual Meeting in Quebec City on March 4, 2008.
BMO became Canada's first bank when it opened its doors in Montreal on November 3, 1817. Twenty-five days later, Bank of Montreal founded its first branch, in Quebec City at 3 Rue Saint-Pierre, which became the second cornerstone in the history of Canadian banks and the springboard from which Bank of Montreal would expand its network to more than 1,000 branches nationwide.
Daniel Sutherland, a Scottish immigrant and deputy postmaster general for Upper and Lower Canada at the time, was appointed manager of the branch. Then, Quebec City had a population of about 19,000 and was a major fur, lumber and fish trading centre. Much of the dealing took the form of bartering, as the existing currency was an odd mix of coinage and notes from half a dozen foreign countries.
The arrival of the Bank of Montreal paved the way for the introduction of Canada's first currency, Bank of Montreal notes, which continued to be issued until 1935, when the Bank of Canada was founded. The currency helped foster trade and the development of Quebec City. Bank of Montreal also played a significant role in projects key to the growth of Quebec and Canada, including the construction of the first canals, telegraphs and railways, most notably Canadian Pacific's transcontinental line.
In 1961, in recognition of Bank of Montreal's importance to and long association with Quebec City, Gilbert Rh�aume, manager of the Quebec City main branch, was awarded the Order of Merit by Mayor Wilfrid Hamel at a city hall ceremony honouring the institutions that had served the city for at least a century.
“BMO is proud to have helped individuals and business in the Quebec City area to achieve their financial goals and dreams for nearly two centuries,” said Yves Lafreni�re, Vice-President, Eastern Quebec, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We want to thank all our customers for their loyalty,” he added, noting that the Bank's longest-standing business relationship in the Quebec City area is with the Simons family, which has been a BMO customer since 1848.
In recent years, BMO Bank of Montreal has invested more than $10 million in the Quebec City area to better serve its customers, building new branches in L�vis and Sainte-Foy in 2007, upgrading all of its automated banking machines and offering Saturday business hours at three full-service branches in addition to seven days a week banking at its Beauport and L�vis In-Store branches.
BMO Financial Group now has ten bank branches in the capital region as well as a BMO Nesbitt Burns branch and a BMO Harris Private Banking branch, both of which are located at 500 Grande-All�e.
BMO is a leading corporate citizen that supports many local educational and health care organizations and Centraide. Together with the Commission de la capital nationale, BMO Financial Group will sponsor the Fresque des capitales BMO, a giant mural commemorating Quebec City's 400th anniversary and depicting prominent figures and great moments in the political life of the capital city.
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