There are currently ten community development corporations (CDECs) on the island of Montreal, working in neighbourhoods most deeply affected by poverty and deindustrialization. The first development corporations were initiated in the 1980s in Montreal’s south-west. In the early 1990s, seven other Montreal neighbourhoods adopted the same model.

CDECs are born out of the will of local players (businesses, community organisations, institutions, unions and the general population) to take control of their own economic development. The CDECs have a dual mission of both economic and social development. They offer support for the start-up and consolidation of businesses in their neighbourhoods to create employment, and also encourage the development of local human resources, most particularly for the integration of unemployed people into the work force.

At the heart of what the CDEC does is the coordination of major socio-economic players to better develop local resources. With this in mind, the boards of directors of the CDECs are made up of representatives elected from several electoral colleges (business, community, institutions, unions and residents, employees) representing different stakeholders. The model encourages civic participation. The CDECs develop strong partnerships and ensure local leadership on major issues in their neighbourhoods.

The CDEC CDN/NDG was born on the 1st day in December, 1992 on the occasion of its founding general assembly. Members in good standing elected 22 representatives to form the first board of directors. At this time, the CDEC had only two permanent employees, but, the very next year, after receiving a budget from the FAMO (Human Resource Development Fund), four employability professionals joined the Corporation.

Two years later, the Quebec Minister of Industry and Commerce granted additional funds to hire an economic development agent. Finally, on the 8th of June 1998, the Quebec Minister of the Metropole and the City of Montreal accredited the CDEC CDN/NDG with a mandate from the Centre local de developpement de Montreal (CLD Montreal) to establish a one-stop shop for businesses in the neighbourhood, in collaboration with the local partners working in the field of economic development.

Since April 2003, the CDEC itself has been accredited as a CLD, following the creation of the new City of Montreal. At this time, the CDEC employs 14 employees full time with an operating budget of nearly $1 000 000, to offer free services in the domains of job creation and human resource development.