A tribute to women at the heart of the design

An international multidisciplinary landscape architecture competition (see information in French here) was the origin of the future Place des Montréalaises. Unveiled in 2018, the winning design features a vegetated slope which will repair the scar left by construction of Autoroute Ville-Marie.

Developed by the team of Lemay, Angela Silver and SNC-Lavalin, the concept includes three components: A floral meadow on the inclined plane of the belvedere, a mirror-piece paying tribute to 21 Montréal women, and a stairway enhancing the stained glass panels by Marcelle Ferron in the Champ-de-Mars metro station.

On one side of the Miroir des Montréalaises will be the names of the 14 victims of the femicide at the École polytechnique, while the other side will name seven women pioneers of the metropolis, from different fields and different eras:

• Myra Cree (1937-2005) – Culture and communications - A Mohawk Indigenous woman who was a leader in communications, in particular by becoming the first woman to be a news anchor on the Téléjournal program (Radio-Canada)
• Jessie Maxwell-Smith (1920-2000) – Education and social development - Little Burgundy teacher who helped ensure Montréal’s Black community had access to quality education.
• Agnès Vautier (1896-1976) – Sports and recreation - a player for the unbeatable Western Hockey Team in 1917.
• Ida Roth Steinberg (1885-1942) – Business and economy, business person, Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who founded the first Steinberg grocery store.
• Idola Saint-Jean (1880-1945) – Democracy and society - Québec feminist and activist for women’s right to vote.
• Harriet Brooks (1876-1933) – Science and education - first Canadian woman to become a nuclear physicist.
• Jeanne Mance (1606-1673) – Health and administration - cofounder of the Ville-Marie