Polytechnique Montréal was founded in 1873 in order to teach technical drawing and other useful arts.

In 2002, the Computer and Electrical Engineering Department (they were later separated) began to occupy the fifth and sixth floor of the old École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal building.

For more than 30 years, the massacre was the deadliest shooting incident in modern Canadian history, until April 2020, when a gunman slew 22 people in the Nova Scotia rampage.

[5] The Polytechnique massacre is commemorated by the Canadian government as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

This new building won an "Award of Merit" from Canadian Architect magazine in 2003, received a Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and scored 46 on the LEED points scale which was, at inauguration, the highest score ever obtained in Canada.

Since its foundation in 1873, this French language educational establishment trains engineers and specialists.

Its graduates were part of most of Quebec's major engineering works of the 20th century such as the construction of hydroelectric dams.

[citation needed] Polytechnique offers 12 undergraduate programs, managed by seven departments.

It is known around the campus of the Université de Montréal for its irreverent humour, crosswords puzzles, Arts & Entertainment section and "you submit it, we'll publish it" policy.

Students build a complete "artificial beach" in the cafeteria, by putting loads of sand on the floor and assembling an interior water park with a large swimming pool.

Also, each year, the Poly-World student delegation goes to another country to learn and compare foreign engineering practices.