Candidates were given considerable latitude, in keeping with the sizable constraints imposed by the site. The surface to be decorated was five times wider than its height, and there was little separation between the main entrance to the building and the space accommodating the work. As well, a row of columns meant the mural could not be viewed in its entirety at a single glance.

The jury made up of painters Jean-Paul Lemieux, of Québec City, and André Biéler, of Kingston, and jury chairman Evan H. Turner, Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, received proposals from 71 artists. Second and third place went to Joseph Iliu and Armand Vaillancourt, respectively, but it was Jean-Paul Mousseau who carried off first prize with his idea for a mural that would continually transform electricity into light and color.