To mark the 30th anniversary of the March of Pain et des roses, the City of Montreal is naming the public square between Atateken and Wolfe streets, north of the former St. Jacques market in Ville-Marie's Centre-Sud district, “Place du Pain-et-des-Roses”. This public square was made permanent in 2024.
The square takes its name from the “Pain et des roses March”, a feminist movement that emerged in Quebec in 1995. This movement, initiated by the Fédération des femmes du Québec and which has since brought together groups from several regions of Quebec, including Montreal, aimed to draw attention to poverty issues. Over 850 women marched for ten days towards the National Assembly.
Inspired by the struggles that led to the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike by thousands of textile workers in the United States, the Quebec movement took up the symbols of bread, to represent work and better economic conditions, and roses, to illustrate quality of life.
“As the pain et des roses March movement in Quebec celebrates its 30th anniversary, it's our duty to recognize the thousands of Quebec women, past and present, who have fought to improve their conditions and make their lives more dignified. The new Place du Pain-et-des-Roses, located in the heart of the Centre-Sud district, an area with a working-class past, bears the symbols of these struggles here in Montreal and throughout Quebec. It's also a memory, now timeless, of a struggle that is still necessary and relevant today,” says Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal and of the Ville-Marie borough.
“This toponym, steeped in history, is a reminder of the social struggles crucial to improving the living conditions of women and families. By referring to the Marché Saint-Jacques, a building of exceptional heritage value, Place du Pain-et-des-Roses also becomes a historical anchor in this area, where neighborhood life was organized around this iconic site,” said Ericka Alneus, elected official responsible for culture, heritage, gastronomy and nightlife on the executive committee.
SOURCE City of Montreal - Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee
