Looking down from the balcony on Mount Royal – the extinct remains of volcanic activity that took place more than 125 million years ago – Montréal doesn’t strike you as a high-tech center. From the summit, you can see the skyscrapers of downtown – emblazoned with the logos of banks and civil consulting companies – and turn to the west to view the spectacular St. Joseph’s Oratory. Casting your eyes back to the river, you see the historical streets of Vieux Montréal and the port – birthplace of Cirque du Soleil. What you don’t see is the high-tech industry that is turning Montréal into a high-tech center to rival other major hubs on the continent such as the Bay Area.