Montreal sex workers to go on strike during Grand Prix weekend

Mercedes GP Petronas driver Michael Schumacher, centre, and Scuderia Toro Rosso Jaime Alguersuari drive by the hairpin turn overlooking the Montreal skyline during the first practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix, Friday, June 10, 2011 in Montreal. Sex workers plan to strike during one of Montreal's most profitable weekends. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTREAL — A group of sex workers in Montreal are calling for a general strike during Grand Prix weekend to demand better working conditions.

The Sex Work Autonomous Committee says its members want an end to the nightly fees that dancers are forced to pay to work in clubs, to obtain labour protections, and for the federal government to fully decriminalize sex work.

During the strike, scheduled for Saturday, May 23, some will refuse to pay the bar fee, while others won't take clients. It’s unclear how many sex workers will go on strike as participation is voluntary.

A dancer who goes by the name Kit has been working in Montreal’s strip clubs full time for the last three years and says she tries to avoid the “chaos” of the Grand Prix and the influx of tourists it brings. Formula One weekend this year is May 22-24.

She says Grand Prix weekend is a lucrative time for club managers who book more dancers than usual and charge them up to $110 per shift. She adds that at her club, clients are obligated to buy alcohol but not to purchase dances from the girls.

“Sometimes you leave in the negative because you paid more to work than you end up making,” Kit says, adding that some owners increase bar fees during Grand Prix weekend. “Nobody should be paying to work, especially if you're not receiving a wage.”

Kit says Canada could take inspiration from Washington state, which passed legislation in 2024 known as the strippers’ bill of rights. The measure created safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry and capped bar fees.

The sex work committee says the strike on May 23 is their chance to "threaten that income" from owners of clubs and other adult venues and "affect them when it hurts the most.”

According to Quebec’s workplace safety board, most labour protections apply to employees but not to the self-employed. Many dancers and sex workers who work in massage parlours are not paid a wage and are considered autonomous workers, even if their employers set their schedules.

If sex workers are sick, they dip into their savings to take time off. If dancers trip on uneven floors in their eight-inch heels or fall from a shaky pole, they have no worker protections, Kit said.

Bell GPCanada, promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix, was asked by The Canadian Press to comment on the strike and the allegations that the race weekend brings in many tourists to Montreal seeking sexual services.

"Bell GPCanada strongly objects to any form of sexual exploitation, violence or harassment, and we support the initiatives by local authorities to combat this issue," spokesperson Jeff Lambert said in an email.

Those going on strike also want to call attention to the fact the federal government hasn't fully decriminalized sex work. In Canada, it is not illegal to sell sex, but purchasing sexual services and running brothels are criminal offences.

Lena Rozanov offers sexual services in Montreal massage parlours, which operate in a grey zone. Rozanov can legally work, but her clients and the people who run the parlours are criminalized. She says she will be striking during F1 weekend.

Rozanov says decriminalization would help her massage parlour better vet clients. Since they are technically breaking the law, clients aren't asked to give identification or to register before they purchase her services.

She also wants insurance for workplace incidents — which can include harassment, breaches of consent and assault — and paid time off.

“The main issue is safety,” Rozanov says. “The majority of clients are absolutely decent, but there are some who might behave dangerously, and we have no protection.”

Kit, who escorts on the side, says she would like to see spaces where sex workers can safely work together without fear of prosecution. “We’re not just victims who get pimped out,” she says.

Valerie Scott has fought for the decriminalization of sex work for decades. She says the law criminalizes the income of those who sell sex and pushes them into the shadows.

Scott and two other sex workers challenged Canada's prostitution laws in 2007. The Supreme Court of Canada in 2013 struck down Criminal Code provisions banning bawdy houses, communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution and living on the avail of prostitution.

The court determined that the country's laws had caused harm to sex workers by violating their Charter rights to security.

Scott, who runs the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, says that in response to the Supreme Court decision, the federal government adopted new laws “that are even worse.” She’s involved in a legal challenge to Canada's existing sex work laws, and says she wholeheartedly supports the strike in Montreal.

“Why do we as a society insist that people who have sex for money are not … worthy of labour protections, not worthy of physical protection?” Scott said.

However, there are mixed feelings about the strike among sex workers in Montreal. Some may not participate because they don't want to miss out on the lucrative weekend; others worry about being blacklisted from their only source of income.

For its part, the sex work committee says it will continue to push for labour rights beyond the May 23 strike.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press

Erika Morris, The Canadian Press