Miss Canada

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]

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

The following is a list of winners:^[9]

• 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

Miss Canada at Miss Universe

Miss Canada at Miss America and Canadian representatives at Miss America

This is a list of women that represented Canada at the Miss America pageant. Canada sent representatives in 1922, 1945, and from 1946 to 1963. In 1922 and 1945, the delegates that were sent competed as their local titles. From 1946 to 1963, the winner of Miss Canada represented Canada at Miss America.

Hosts

Jaclyn Miles, a former Miss Canada: 2016-2025

Jim Perry: 1967-1991

Peter Jennings: 1963-1966

See also

• Miss Earth Canada
• Miss Universe Canada
• Miss World Canada
• Miss Dominion of Canada
• Miss Canada International
• Miss Universe
• Miss America

References

1. ^ "Miss Canada TM / Miss Teen Canada TM – Our History". missteencanadatm.com. Archived 26 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
2. ^ "BC's Tara Teng is Miss Canada". The Filipino Post. 1 February 2011. Archived 6 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 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 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. 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 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
11. ^ "Inès Gavran: Miss Canada 2013" (in French). Ici Radio-Canada Télé. 27 March 2013. Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
12. ^ Belanger, Joe (21 April 2013). "Women of Excellence: Jaclyn Miles". London Free Press. Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
13. ^ Michel Moyneur (8 November 2009). "Une Gatinoise décroche le titre de Miss Canada" (in French). Info07.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
14. ^ LeBlanc, Don (15 November 1967). "PEI Girl is Miss Canada". Telegraph-Journal. p. 7.
15. ^ Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. p. 4. – via Newspapers.com ...talent contest that was established in 1935.

External links

• British Pathe newsreel of Miss Canada 1948