A major theme in contemporary urban literature concerns the intrametropolitan distribution of economic activities. In North American metropolitan areas, the most recent phase of post-WWII employment decentralisation has culminated in the creation of « suburban downtowns » or « edge cities » that are often direct competitors to the CBD. In this paper, we first examine the extent to which Montréal has undergone a decentralisation of employment over the period 1981-1996, then attempt to determine whether the observed decentralisation involves a reconcentration in a limited number of employment poles (polycentricity) or a more generalised dispersion (scatteration). Our analysis is based upon place-of-work employment data at the census tract level. The results indicate that decentralisation is indeed a reality in Montréal, and that it tends to be of a polycentric nature, rather than the more widely dispersed form that appears to be characterizing many U.S. metropolitan areas.