Montreal metro turns 60 with fall celebrations, community storytelling project

Montreal's metro system is marking its 60th anniversary with a series of events and community initiatives unfolding across the city this fall, celebrating the transit network that has shaped the city's connectivity and economic growth over six decades.

The STM is calling on Montrealers to share their own metro memories and experiences. Those stories will be woven into a collective work set to be unveiled October 14. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada noted the symbolic weight of the milestone: "Sixty years shows us our age. It gives us challenges for the future."

The anniversary programming will feature local sports teams including the Alouettes and CF Montréal, as well as artists and musicians like Piknic Électronik and pianist Alexandra Stréliski. Radio-Canada will air a documentary hosted by Pierre-Yves Lord, filmed over the past year in several STM facilities. "Pierre-Yves prend le métro" will air September 17 at 9 p.m.

Aref Salem, chairman of the STM board, underscored the infrastructure's ongoing challenges: "This is the first problem that we're working on; to maintain what we have. The second point, we have to invest more in services and to increase these services eventually."

To mark the milestone, the STM will sell limited-edition 60th-anniversary clothing and merchandise from September 23 to October 19. Proceeds will support Centraide of Greater Montreal and Réchaud-bus, organizations providing support to people experiencing homelessness and young people in disadvantaged communities.

The metro has carried more than 11 billion trips over its 60 years, connecting neighborhoods to downtown and helping drive Montreal's position as one of Quebec's most important economic hubs.