The Montreal Metro, with its rather marvelous design and very retro feel, will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary in 2026. Like Expo ’67 and the 1976 Olympic Games, it was a project launched by Jean Drapeau—a mayor who was not without controversy, but who definitively ushered Montreal into an era of modernity and design that still permeates the city today.
After nearly ten years of construction, Montreal’s first 20 metro stations were inaugurated on October 14, 1966. It will be sixty years this October, and the STM has planned nearly two months of festivities to celebrate the metro’s 60th anniversary.
For the history of the Montreal metro and plenty of archival photos, visit the STM’s website here.
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60 YEARS OF THE MONTREAL METRO—AND THE “METRO-MOMENTS”
Illustrator La Charbonne has created a special collection for the 60th anniversary of the Montreal metro—with its stations that are part Bauhaus, part retrofuturistic, the collection is part of a truly fabulous design tradition.
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We’re also encouraged to share a “subway moment” through October 9, 2026; these will be compiled into a collective artwork to celebrate the 60th anniversary.
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In September, the schedule includes a surprise concert by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, a DJ set in a subway car by Picnik Électronik, concerts, and an appearance by the Montreal Alouettes.
In October, there will be an event at the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Library, two marching bands, an exhibition at the Musée des Mémoires Montréalaises (MEM), and a special anniversary micro-magazine.
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