The Montreal Metro is famous for giving its stations distinct designs rather than imposing one uniform architectural style across the network.
During the system's development, Montreal organized a competition among Canadian architects so that each station could have its own architectural identity. The result is a network in which stations differ in layout, materials, lighting, color, and decorative treatment. This approach made the metro part of Montreal's civic and cultural landscape, not just an underground railway.
Public art became equally important. More than fifty stations contain over one hundred works, including stained glass, murals, sculpture, and mosaics by notable Quebec artists. Marcelle Ferron's stained-glass work at Champ-de-Mars and the Paris Métro entrance at Square-Victoria–OACI are especially well-known examples. The system's all-underground design also reflects Montreal's severe winter climate and links many stations to the city's Underground City.
The wording is sometimes overstated as meaning that every station was literally designed by an artist rather than an architect. The accurate core is that stations were commissioned with individual architectural treatments and extensive artist collaboration, so no two stations share exactly the same visual identity.