<P> Though Quebec was the capital and thus the centre of government activity, Montreal also served a key administrative function in New France . Along with Quebec and Trois - Rivières, Montreal was considered a district of the colony . Before the cour de la jurisdiction royale was established in 1693, the seminary of St Sulpice had administered justice . Montreal also had a local governor who represented the governor general and a commissaire de la marine who acted as the intendant's representative . While most government positions were appointed, Montreal and the other districts did have some element of democracy, if only briefly . Syndics were elected representatives who attended meetings of the council of Quebec and the Sovereign Council . However, the syndics had little authority and could only raise the concerns of their district's residents . This office existed from 1647 until it was eliminated in the 1670s due to government fears over the potential formation of political factions; in lieu of syndics, citizens brought their issues to the commissaire de la marine . Because of their importance to Montreal and New France, merchants were allowed to establish chambers of commerce called bourses and meet regularly to discuss their concerns . A bourse would have collectively chosen a representative to address these issues with the governor and commissaire de la marine . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section relies largely or entirely on a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (May 2017) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section relies largely or entirely on a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (May 2017) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Population of the Island of the Montreal during French rule consisted of both native peoples and the French . When the first census was conducted in the colony in 1666, the French population was 659 with an estimated native population of 1000 . According to the sources, this was the only point when the native population was higher than the French population on the Island of Montreal . By 1716, the French population had grown to 4,409 people while the native population was 1,177 . The French Population of Montreal began slowly through immigration . In 1642 a party of 50 Frenchmen representing the Societe de Notre Dame de Montreal pour la conversion des Sauvages de la Nouvelle France set foot on the island that the Compagnie des Cent Associes donated . The initial settlement had 150 individuals in the first ten years; few remained for long because the site of Montreal was vulnerable to Iroquois attacks . Immigration to Montreal increased thereafter; between 1653 and 1659, 200 persons arrived . Eventually approximately 1200 to 1500 immigrants settled on the island of Montreal between 1642 and 1714; 75% remained and half of them came before 1670 . Immigrants came from different regions of France: 65 percent of the immigrants were rural; 25 percent of the immigrants were from the largest cities of France; 10 percent from smaller urban communities . </P>

In its early days montréal was the center of the fur trade in canada