Montreal’s Blue line: New station names honour women and communities
Posted September 9, 2025 9:10 am.
Last Updated September 9, 2025 5:41 pm.
Montreal metro’s Blue line extension won’t completed before 2031, but the names of five stations were unveiled Tuesday.
The future STM stations will pay tribute to women and communities: Vertières , Mary-Two-Axe-Earley, Césira-Parisotto, Madeleine-Parent and Anjou.
“By naming these five new stations, we are paying tribute to women and communities who have marked Montreal’s history,” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said. “It is a gesture of recognition, an act of remembrance, and an affirmation of our collective values.”
“For the first time, we are moving away from the tradition of naming stations after highways or geographical landmarks,” said Éric Alan Caldwell, president of STM. “This is a significant shift in how we choose to tell the story of our city and our collective history.”
With a reported price tag of $7.6 billion, the project will add new stops to the east of Station Saint-Michel with approximately six kilometres of tunnel. It will also add two bus terminals, among other amenities.
The STM estimates that nearly 69,000 public transit users will use the new section each day.
Plante also spoke about the potential challenges that still lie ahead for the project, including the effects of the trade war with the U.S. and the uncertainty. “Our goal as public institutions is to keep [the effects] as controlled as possible,” she said.
New station names
Station Vertières
Located at the intersection of Jean-Talon St. E. and Pie-IX Blvd., it commemorates the Battle of Vertières, which took place in 1803 and led to Haitian independence.
The name is a gesture of recognition to the Haitian community, which settled for several years in the Saint-Michel district.
Station Mary-Two-Axe-Earley
Located at the intersection of Jean-Talon St. E. and Viau Blvd., this station is named in honor of Mary Two-Axe Earley.
It is to honour Earley, a Mohawk woman from Kahnawake and a leading figure in Indigenous women’s rights activism. She led a 1985 fight to amend the Indian Act after losing her Indian status by marrying a non-Indigenous man.
Station Césira-Parisotto
Located at the intersection of Jean-Talon St. E. and Lacordaire Blvd., this Saint-Léonard metro station is named in honour of Césira Parisotto, also known as Mother Anselme, who was a prominent figure in the Italian community in Quebec.
Parisotto was a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Mary. She founded several institutions, including schools and the Marie-Clarac hospital.
Station Madeleine-Parent
Located at the intersection of Jean-Talon St. E. and Langelier Blvd., this station is named in honor of Madeleine Parent, who was a trade unionist and pioneer of the feminist movement who dedicated her life to social justice.
Station Anjou
Located at the intersection of the Metropolitan and Highway 25, the new eastern terminus of the Blue line will be named after the borough it will serve. The borough itself bears the name of the French province of Anjou, where many of Montreal’s founders originated.
In 2019, a toponymy committee was established by the STM to issue naming recommendations for future metro stations.
In 2020, the public consultation commission for the Blue line extension recommended that the new stations be named to highlight the contributions of ethnocultural communities, Indigenous peoples and women.
A first for Indigenous history
Community members from Kahnawake and three generations of family of Two-Axe Earley said they were happy to see their family matriarch getting this recognition.
“A lot of people aren’t aware of the impact [Two-Axe Earley] had on the women’s rights movements across Canada so I think this helps bring that awareness to a whole new generation,” said Courtney Montour, filmmaker from Kahnawake and friend of the family.
“This is the first Indigenous name on the STM Metro line and it’s Two-Axe Earley from Kahnawake. We don’t get to hear the positive Indigenous women stories that often so that’s another reason why it’s so important to see her named on the Metro,” Montour added.
At the announcement, Plante was joined by Chantale Rouleau, Quebec minister responsible for social solidarity and community action and MNA for Pointe-aux-Trembles and Éric St-Pierre, MP for Honoré-Mercier.
Montrealers speak out
Montreal women reacted positively to the city’s decision to name many of the stations after women leaders.
“[That’s] a fantastic idea. Men seem to always have their names, perpetuated, so that’s great. I think that’s a cool idea for sure,” said Kaleska Rolston.
Valentine Miaille said, “If all the stations have the name with the woman, it’s cool, it’s a good progress for women.”
