Earlier today, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante unveiled plans for the creation of a sculpture and city square dedicated to the commemoration of Montreal women.
Located by the Champ-de-Mars métro station above the Ville-Marie Expressway, the Place des Montréalaises will include a large mirrored wall that will include the names of the 14 women slain in the 1989 Polytechnique massacre, as well as seven women who contributed to the city’s founding and expansion:
Among the seven women is:
- Radio-Canada journalist and personality Myra Cree.
- Idola Saint-Jean, a feminist and pioneer in the fight for women’s suffrage and the first woman from Québec to run as a candidate in a federal election.
- Harriet Brooks, the first Canadian female nuclear physicist who is most famous for her research on nuclear transmutations and radioactivity.
- famous trailblazing professor, Jessie Maxwell-Smith.
- Montreal hockey player, Agnès Vautier.
- Ida Roth Steinberg, a famous entrepreneur who opened the first Steinberg grocery store located at 4419 boulevard Saint-Laurent.
- Jeanne Mance, who established the city’s first hospital.
In addition to the sculpture, the square will include a flower bed.
Another area near Champ-de-Mars metro station will honour Marie-Josèphe-Angélique, an enslaved Black woman from the 18th century who was charged with arson after a fire leveled Montréal’s merchants' quarter. It was alleged that Angélique committed the act while attempting to flee her bondage. She was convicted, tortured and hanged despite never being proven guilty of committing the crime.
Plante said work on the project is expected to be completed by 2024.
