Montreal sex workers fight for rights during F1 weekend
Strippers at Montreal clubs are striking during the Grand Prix to demand recognition as employees, not contractors, and safer workplaces.
As Formula 1 racing takes over Montreal this week, strippers at the city's clubs are staging a strike to highlight a different kind of power imbalance: the fight to be recognized as employees with legal protections, rather than independent contractors working in venues that brush aside workplace safety.
The strike is part of a larger movement to legitimize and decriminalize sex work in Canada. It's rooted in a simple but consequential distinction: when workers are classified as independent contractors, they have virtually no legal leverage over their employers. Clubs aren't responsible for their safety, working conditions, or rights.
According to the strikers and filmmakers documenting the movement, the solution is straightforward: hire strippers as employees. That single change would force clubs to meet workplace standards, provide health insurance, and take responsibility for patron behavior and safety inside their venues.
The timing during the F1 Grand Prix—one of Montreal's biggest events, drawing massive tourism and spending—puts pressure on the industry. The city is watching; international media is present. For sex workers across Canada, it's a visibility moment that's been a long time coming. Whether Montreal's clubs respond or double down will ripple across the country.