Montreal is Canada’s most distinct big city — French at work, festival-driven in summer, brutal in February, and home to some of the most interesting work in the country across AI, gaming, aerospace, and creative tech. For an intern willing to function in French (or eager to learn), it’s an environment you genuinely can’t find anywhere else.
Who Studies Here
Five public universities anchor Montreal. McGill is the country’s most internationally famous research university, with a heavily anglophone student body. Université de Montréal and UQAM are the two large French-language universities, each enormous. Concordia covers the bilingual middle. ÉTS is the city’s applied engineering school, deeply connected to industry. Together they put around 200,000 students into the metro — easily Canada’s largest university city by absolute count.
Where the Work Is
Montreal’s economic mix is genuinely distinctive:
- Artificial intelligence — Mila, plus Element AI alumni networks and a serious applied-research scene
- Gaming — Ubisoft Montreal, EA Montreal, Behaviour Interactive, Eidos, dozens of mid-size studios
- Aerospace — the Bombardier, CAE, Pratt & Whitney Canada cluster
- Visual effects and animation, world-class
- Fintech, biotech, and a deep cleantech wave
What an Intern Actually Does
Tech and AI interns in Montreal often work on technically substantial problems — the city’s reputation for fundamental research seeps into product roles. Gaming interns get exposure to studios that ship globally significant titles. Aerospace interns work in genuine industrial settings. Across all of it, the cost of living gives a paid Montreal internship real spending power.
Living There as an Intern
Montreal is one of the most liveable major cities in Canada:
- Rent is meaningfully cheaper than Toronto or Vancouver
- The Metro and bus network is excellent; the city is one of the most walkable in North America
- Winters are long and severe; summers are festival-saturated and brilliant
- Food and cultural life punch far above what the city’s size would predict
A Note for International Students
French is the working language for most Montreal jobs, and Bill 96 has reinforced that. Tech, AI, and parts of gaming run more flexibly bilingual, but you’ll get the most out of the city by treating French as a serious project. International communities are large and well-rooted; the cultural fit is generally easy for students from francophone or Mediterranean backgrounds.
Typical Internship Roles in Montreal
Montreal’s intern lanes lean technical and creative, with a heavy AI and gaming tilt:
- AI and ML research roles around Mila and applied teams at studios and startups
- Gameplay programming, design, and art at Ubisoft, EA, Behaviour, Eidos, and indies
- Aerospace engineering at Bombardier, CAE, and Pratt & Whitney Canada
- Visual effects and animation studios
- Fintech, biotech, and cleantech roles across the city
How to Stand Out in Your Application
Three things work in Montreal as much as anywhere else:
- Show one piece of real work in your application — not just a list of courses
- Be specific about why this company, in this city — not just any internship
- Have at least one local reference point — a class you took, a project you noticed, an event you went to
In Montreal, demonstrating functional French (even imperfect) in your cover letter and at the interview opens twice as many doors as any English-only application.
Where Inkaer Comes In
Inkaer connects Canadian startups with international students for paid internships across the country, English- and French-language alike. Record one short video (in either language, as the role calls for), get on a real shortlist, and let Montreal employers find you. No cost.
Want the broader picture? See our national guide to paid internships in Canada, or read our companion post on what an internship in Montreal actually feels like.