PRESIDENT AND CEO'S MESSAGE

In 1822, some 54 merchants from the business community came together to found the Committee of Trade, which later became the Board of Trade, whose very first president was Mr. Thomas Blackwood. In 1887, its Francophone counterpart, the Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal, was created through the initiative of Joseph-Xavier Perrault and 135 Francophones from the business milieu.

Then, in 1992, the two organizations merged in order to speak with a single voice, and to strongly and confidently represent the business community of Greater Montréal as a whole. This gave birth to the Board of Trade as we know it today, under the name Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal/ Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain.

Our predecessors demonstrated unfaltering commitment to defending the interests of Montréal’s business community in order to allow our city to develop and prosper. The positions that they championed and the achievements that they implemented are many, spanning such sectors as education, economic development, culture, municipal administration, and transportation.

It is this legacy that today—through our efforts and the positions we defend—enables us to be a credible and ever more influential organization.

Listed below are some of the important dates that shaped our past. I hope you will derive as much pleasure in exploring our history as we did in tracing it.

Michel Leblanc
President and CEO

OVER THE YEARS…

• Who was the first president of the Board of Trade?
  Mr. Thomas Blackwood, in 1822.

• Who founded the Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal?
  Mr. Joseph-Xavier Perrault, in 1887. The Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal was founded to represent the French-speaking business community of the era. The merger of the Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal and the Board of Trade took place in 1992.

• Did you know?
  The first general meeting of the Board of Trade took place on April 23, 1822 in the offices of Messrs. Gerrard, Gillespie, and Moffatt, three businessmen working in the finance industry.

• 54: the number of merchants involved in the founding of the Board of Trade.

• 135: Le nombre de marchands qui ont participé à la création de la Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal.

• Did you know? McGill University and the Montreal General Hospital were established in the same year as the Board of Trade, in 1822.

• In what year did the Board of Trade create the Corn Exchange? 1863.

• Did you know? The Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal started a magazine called Commerce—a newsletter for business people—in 1898.

• Did you know? The first building erected and occupied by the Board of Trade burned down on January 24, 1901.

• Did you know? In 1906, the Board of Trade made recommendations for the development of a subway network in Montréal.

• Did you know? The Chambre de commerce du district de Montréal was behind the creation of the École des hautes études commerciales in 1907.