The Mill Girls: The Newfoundland Women Who Transformed Canada’s Industrial Heartland

Join Heather Barrett on an extraordinary journey as she uncovers the mystery of the Mill Girls. Using humour, drama, and heartwarming tales, their story illuminates the 1940’s exodus of young single women from the then country of Newfoundland to Cambridge, an industrial city in Ontario.

The Mill Girls invaded Canada like a tidal wave, transforming the demographics, culture and economics of an entire region, and launching a feminist offensive before the word itself existed. Who were they? Why did they leave Newfoundland? And why did their stories vanish? This new book reads like a whodunnit, with heaping doses of comedy and inspiration.

Heather Barrett is a journalist and storyteller, and an international award winning radio documentary producer. She is also a long-time producer and host with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, based in St. John’s. In 2023 she co-authored a previous book, Black Harbour: Slavery and the Forgotten Histories of Black People in Newfoundland and Labrador.