Montreal strippers and sex workers to stage strike during Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 weekend
F1 Grand PrixSaturday, 16 May 2026 at 13:55
Strippers and sex workers in Montreal are planning strike action during Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend as part of a campaign for better working conditions, worker protections and an end to what organisers describe as exploitative labour practices.
The Sex Work Autonomous Committee (SWAC) announced on their official website that the strike is scheduled for May 23 and will involve workers from strip clubs and massage parlours across the city.
The group said it had spent years organising workers and building support for collective action, with preparations intensifying throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Among the demands are the abolition of “bar fees” paid by dancers to clubs, recognition of sex workers as employees rather than independent contractors, safer workplaces, sanitary working conditions, protection from discrimination and access to unemployment and labour protections.
“The truth is that we have an employer and he owes us safe working conditions like in any other jobs!” the group said.
SWAC argued that dancers are treated as employees in practice despite being classified as self employed contractors: “As strippers we are responsible for the demands of our management,” the group said.
“If they say we work 3 shifts a week, we do, if they say we show full nude on stage, we do, if they say our heels are too short, we buy taller ones, because if we don’t we will lose our jobs.”
Organisers said the Canadian Grand Prix period was deliberately chosen because it is the most profitable week of the year for many clubs, while workers face increased fees, overcrowding and deteriorating conditions.
“In 2025, one club in Montréal charged $110 per night for the five nights of F1,” the statement said. “At an average of 60 girls a night this club made approximately $33,000 alone on the dancers walking through the door.”
The group acknowledged there could be consequences for workers taking part in the strike but said collective action was necessary to challenge what it described as exploitative management practices.
The planned protest adds an unusual backdrop to Formula 1’s visit to Montreal, with organisers aiming to use the global spotlight of Grand Prix week to draw attention to labour rights, workplace safety and the wider push for the decriminalisation of sex work in Canada.
Stripper demands
In strip clubs: We call for the abolition of the bar fee. The first step is to break free from the idea that we are self-employed. The truth is that we have an employer and he owes us safe working conditions like in any other jobs!
- We, sex workers, want a worker status and the protection that comes with the recognition:End of workplace violence: our employer should provide us with a safe working environment and take measures to prevent violence;Healthy working environment: we want a sanitary working environment;End of hiring and scheduling discrimination: no more hiring and scheduling based on race, gender identity, age or size;Access to unemployment and CNESST.
- End of workplace violence: our employer should provide us with a safe working environment and take measures to prevent violence;
- Healthy working environment: we want a sanitary working environment;
- End of hiring and scheduling discrimination: no more hiring and scheduling based on race, gender identity, age or size;
- Access to unemployment and CNESST.
- We join our voice to the international sex worker movement and we demand the full decriminalization of sex work in Canada.
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