From ocean to oil: Sex worker migration and remigration between St. John’s,
Newfoundland and Labrador, and Fort McMurray, Alberta
By Nikki Leendertse
What do driving truck, pipefitting, and selling sexual services have in common? They all offer
considerable money quickly, and they all draw men and women from Newfoundland to Wild
Rose Country to work in the City of Oil: Fort McMurray, Alberta. My research focus is on sex
work, analyzing female sex workers’ interprovincial mobility between Newfoundland and
Labrador and Alberta. Through an ethnographic field study, including in-depth interviews and
participant observation, I will explore the reasons for sex workers’ migration to Fort McMurray,
the process of integration, and the vulnerabilities and oppression experienced as a result of an
outsider status. My work is informed by a feminist geographical lens, which emphasizes the
importance of the construction of bodies through place and discourse while highlighting the
significance of location in shaping sexuality and embodiment. Ultimately, my research offers
insight into the often overlooked and disregarded lives of migratory sex workers in Canada.