Miss Canada is a beauty pageant for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. No title was awarded from 1993 through 2008. The trademark was purchased in 2009 by a Québec organization who produces the pageant under the name to this day. According to the new Miss Canada and Miss Teen Canada web site, the title was re-established with a focus on personality over physical appearance.[1] The Miss Canada competition is Canada's oldest extant beauty pageant.[2]

Miss Canada
Formation1946
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersMontreal
Location
Official language
English, French

Winnifred Blair of Saint John, New Brunswick was proclaimed the first "Miss Canada" on 11 February 1923 at an earlier, unrelated competition during the Montreal Winter Carnival.[3][4] The runner-up in that event was Muriel Harper of Winnipeg, Manitoba.[5]

The first broadcast of the Miss Canada pageant aired on November 10, 1963 on CTV with news anchors Peter Jennings and Baden Langton hosting. Gordon MacRae was hired to sing the first Miss Canada Pageant song. Each of the 23 contestants was escorted by a young officer of the Canadian Armed Forces. Carol Ann Balmer of Toronto won, and Lise Mercier of Quebec City was Miss Congeniality. The escorts were selected and supervised by a young Armoured Corps Officer, J. R. Digger MacDougall, who escorted the runner up, Lise Mercier.

Jennings remained as solo host until 1966 and was replaced by game show host Jim Perry, who hosted the pageant until 1990. Dominique Dufour, the winner of the Miss Canada Pageant in 1981, co-hosted with Perry from 1982 until 1990. The final pageant before its initial cancellation aired in late 1991 and was hosted by Peter Feniak and Liz Grogan.

The show was popular in the 1970s, with up to 5 million viewers, but declined in the 1980s, until it was cancelled in 1992.[6][7] Producers of the show cited mounting production costs, as the reason for cancellation. The last winner was Miss Canada 1992 Nicole Dunsdon from British Columbia.

Between 1947 and 1962, the Miss Canada Pageant sent delegates to the Miss America pageant. No Miss Canada ever won Miss America but some placed.[8]

The Miss Canada Pageant obtained the franchise for the Miss Universe Pageant in 1978, when that year's first runner-up, Andrea Leslie Eng, competed internationally. From 1979 to the final 1992 contest before cancellation, the winners of Miss Canada went on to compete. Miss Canada 1982, Karen Baldwin, is the only Miss Canada to also win Miss Universe. Since 2003, Canada's representative to Miss Universe has been chosen by the Miss Universe Canada pageant.

Winners

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Linda Douma, Miss Canada 1965
 
Diane Landry, Miss Canada 1966

The following is a list of winners:[9]

Year Winner City, Province Runner-up (Second Place)
2024 Tanpreet Parmar Vancouver, British Columbia Geneviève McSween
2023 Ashley Maria Borzellino Hamilton, Ontario Melyka Raby
2022 Marielle David Sainte-Marie-Saint Raphaël, New Brunswick Melyka Raby
2021 Madison Stewart Vancouver, British Columbia Rabiah Dhaliwal
2020 Bremiella De Guzman Surrey, British Columbia Jasmin Chahal
2019 Christine Jamieson Mission, British Columbia Marie-Hélène Mallet
2018 Maria Giorlando Windsor, Ontario Beenu Bajwa
2017 Ciara Thompson Huntsville, Ontario
2016 Anabelle Côté Sherbrooke, Quebec Karmen Brar
2015 Dominique Doucette Campbellton, New Brunswick
2014 Priya Madaan[10] Windsor, Ontario
2013 Inès Gavran[11] Quebec
2012 Jaclyn Miles[12] Amherstburg, Ontario
2011 Tara Teng Vancouver, British Columbia
2010 Mélanie Paquin[13] Gatineau, Quebec
2009 Lorie Racicot Montreal, Quebec
1992 Nicole Dunsdon Summerland, British Columbia
1991 Leslie McLaren Edmonton, Alberta
1990 Robin Lee Ouzunoff Niagara Region, Ontario Tanya Herman
1989 Juliette Powell Laurentians Region, Quebec Kari Lee Hudson
1988 Melinda Gillies London, Ontario Suzie Pilon
1987 Tina May Simpson Niagara Region, Ontario Cindy MacCallum
1986 Rene Newhouse Cranbrook, British Columbia Wynne Anita Kroontje
1985 Karen Elizabeth Tilley Calgary, Alberta Michelle Irene "Mia" Tambling
1984 Cynthia Kereluk Edmonton, Alberta Iris Hope Naumenko
1983 Jodi Yvonne Rutledge Manitoba Lilianne Pelchat
1982 Karen Dianne Baldwin London, Ontario Renee Louise McLoughlin
1981 Dominique Dufour Laval, Quebec Donna Rupert
1980 Terry MacKay Calgary, Alberta Marie Laurin
1979 Heidi Quiring Manitoba Johanne Turenne
1978 Catherine Swing Toronto, Ontario Andrea Leslie Eng
1977 Yvonne Foster Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Louise Josée Mondoux
1976 Sylvia McGuire Nova Scotia Mary-Lu Zahalan
1975 Terry Lynne Meyer Edmonton, Alberta Manni Mary Fink
1974 Blair Lancaster Burlington, Ontario Line Renaud
1973 Gillian Regehr Victoria, British Columbia Kim Jeffries
1972 Donna Mary Sawicky Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario Patricia Alison Bain
1971 Caroline Amelia Commisso Thunder Bay, Ontario Betty Ann Hopner
1970 Julie Maloney Ottawa/Hull, Ontario/Quebec
1969 Marie-France Beaulieu Montreal, Quebec
1968 Carol McKinnon Prince Edward Island
1967 Barbara Kelly Vancouver, British Columbia
1966 Diane Landry Winnipeg, Manitoba
1965 Linda Douma Victoria, British Columbia
1964 Carol Ann Balmer Toronto, Ontario
1962–63 Helena "Nina" Holden* Victoria, British Columbia
1961 Iris Thurlwell Toronto, Ontario
1960 Rosemary Catherine Keenan Rothesay, New Brunswick
1959 Danica d'Hondt Vancouver, British Columbia
1958 Joan May Fitzpatrick Windsor, Ontario
1957 Dorothy Moreau Montreal, Quebec
1956 Miss Canada title is post-dated
1955 Dalyce Smith Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
1954 Barbara Joan Markham Cornwall, Ontario
1953 Kathleen Archibald Kelowna, British Columbia
1952 Marilyn Reddick Toronto, Ontario
1951 Marjorie Kelly Courtland, Ontario
1950 Margaret Bradford London, Ontario
1949 Margaret Lynn Munn Vancouver, British Columbia
1948 Betty Jean Ferguson Halifax, Nova Scotia
1947 Margaret Marshall Toronto, Ontario
1946 Marion Saver North York, Ontario
  • Connie-Gail Feller won the Miss Canada 1962 title and competed at Miss America, however was dethroned on 20 September 1961.

Miss Canada at International Pageants

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Miss Canada at Miss Universe

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Miss Canada at Miss America

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Hosts

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Jaclyn Miles, a former Miss Canada: 2016-2019

Jim Perry: 1967-1991

Peter Jennings: 1963-1966

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Miss Canada TM / Miss Teen Canada TM – Our History". missteencanadatm.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  2. ^ "BC's Tara Teng is Miss Canada". The Filipino Post. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  3. ^ "This week in New Brunswick history, Feb. 8–15 (00/02/07)" Archived 15 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. gnb.ca
  4. ^ "Saint John New Brunswick Time Date" Archived 27 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. new-brunswick.net
  5. ^ "News in Picture". The Globe. 16 February 1923. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Farewell, Miss Canada". CBC. 3 January 1992
  7. ^ Pageant News Bureau: Miss Canada Chronicles Archived 8 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine. pageant.com
  8. ^ stevdik (19 January 2010). "MISS CANADA - (1947-1963) - at Miss America Pageant". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Miss Canada&Miss Teen Canada:MissCanada-Pasttitleholders" Archived 27 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ Wright, Rebecca (2 March 2014). "Windsor Woman Wins Miss Canada 2014". The Windsor Star. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Inès Gavran: Miss Canada 2013". Ici Radio-Canada Télé (in French). 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  12. ^ Belanger, Joe (21 April 2013). "Women of Excellence: Jaclyn Miles". London Free Press. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  13. ^ Michel Moyneur (8 November 2009). "Une Gatinoise décroche le titre de Miss Canada". Info07.com (in French). Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
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