*Defining the nature of sister cities is a confusing exercise. It seems as though cities sometimes do not agree on level of engagement, attributing different terms to the same partnership (e.g., one city might interpret that they're full blown sister cities while the other municipality thinks that it's just a declaration of intention to become partners one day, kind of like being in a relationship where one half of the couple feels they're a committed unit whereas the second half is still looking around). In light of these complications and legalese words lost in translation, it was no easy feat figuring out which communities are genuinely Montreal's sister cities. For the purposes of this article, any city that has signed a sister city agreement (entente de jumelage in French) and/or engaged in a "protocol of exchange and cooperation" with Montreal (protocole d'entente or protocole d'échange et de coopération in French), whether such agreement was renewed or not, will be listed as a sister city on About.com. Any other cooperation agreement, declaration of intention and/or friendship between Montreal and another city is listed on this page.
