Miss Dominion of Canada
Encyclopedia
Miss Dominion of Canada was a beauty pageant held in Niagara Falls
for many years, primarily at the Sheraton
Brock Hotel, on July 1, Canada's Dominion Day
(now known as "Canada Day
"), beginning in 1959.
The winner of this pageant represented Canada at four of the world's largest international beauty pageants, Miss Universe
(until 1977), Miss World
(1962-1979), Miss International
, and Queen of the Pacific
. The Miss Dominion of Canada pageant originated when the Bruno family of Ancaster, Ontario
obtained franchise
rights to select and send Canada's exclusive representatives to these international pageants. As many as 40 contestants selected via local pageants across many provinces of Canada competed in the annual Niagara Falls competition. Throughout the 1970s, there were generally between twelve and twenty contestants competing at the final judging.
and other countries such as the United States
, Japan
, Australia
, and Europe
during her one-year reign. Until 1977, Miss Dominion of Canada was the country's representative at Miss Universe
. The Miss Universe franchise in Canada was taken over by the nationally televised Miss Canada
contest in 1978. Miss Dominion of Canada also represented the country at Miss World
from 1962 to 1979 after which the franchise was taken over by Miss World Canada
.
, who for more than a decade was the host of CBC TV's award-winning investigative consumer program, Market Place. Now at CBC Newsworld
, Jacquie has been involved in various special news projects and is seen weekly as the host of highly-rated Saturday Report. Mary Lou Farrell
made guest appearances on the Lawrence Welk Show, and used her stage name Aniko in performing in many Broadway musicals.
, Maja Internacional and others throughout the 1980s. These women were selected by the franchise owners as Miss Dominion of Canada from 1980 until at least 1991; they included Linda Farrell (1987), Lee-Ann Bruce (1988) and Robin Nardi (1989).
There was also a Miss Teen Dominion of Canada Pageant for at least one year in the early 1970s.
Miss Dominion of Canada Pageant Director John Bruno died in 2004.
A history of Canadian beauty contests, including Miss Dominion of Canada, is currently under development in book form.
*Forfeited title September 19, 1962
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
for many years, primarily at the Sheraton
Sheraton
Sheraton may refer to:*Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, a hotel chain*Sheraton, County Durham, a village in County Durham, in England*Sheraton Centre, a mall complex located in the parish of Christ Church, Barbados....
Brock Hotel, on July 1, Canada's Dominion Day
Dominion Day
Dominion Day is a commemoration day of the granting of national status in various Commonwealth countries.-Canada:Dominion Day was the name of the holiday commemorating the formation of Canada as a Dominion on 1 July 1867...
(now known as "Canada Day
Canada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
"), beginning in 1959.
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
(until 1977), Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
(1962-1979), Miss International
Miss International
Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...
, and Queen of the Pacific
Queen of the Pacific
Queen of the Pacific is a name or nickname of ships and places associated with the Pacific Ocean, the largest of Earth's oceans.-Ships:* In 1852, at the height of the age of the fast clipper sailing ships, the clipper Queen of the Pacific was launched from Pembroke, Maine.* In 1857, the wooden...
. The Miss Dominion of Canada pageant originated when the Bruno family of Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...
obtained franchise
Exclusive right
In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same action or to acquire the same benefit. A "prerogative" is in effect an exclusive right...
rights to select and send Canada's exclusive representatives to these international pageants. As many as 40 contestants selected via local pageants across many provinces of Canada competed in the annual Niagara Falls competition. Throughout the 1970s, there were generally between twelve and twenty contestants competing at the final judging.
Selection Process
Most contestants progressed through as many as five consecutive preliminary local and regional pageants, somewhat similar to a golfer winning progressively more competitive golf tournaments, victorious in each one until finally winning the highest level competition. The Miss Dominion pageant required the finalists to participate in events including evening dress, swimsuit, interviews, talent, and various singing and dancing vignettes. Notable individuals selected as pageant judges would then select the runners up and the winner.Duties and Responsibilities of Miss Dominion of Canada
The contestant selected as Miss Dominion of Canada would visit nearly every Canadian provinceProvinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
and other countries such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during her one-year reign. Until 1977, Miss Dominion of Canada was the country's representative at Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
. The Miss Universe franchise in Canada was taken over by the nationally televised Miss Canada
Miss Canada
Miss Canada was a scholarship competition for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. The first broadcast of the Miss Canada pageant aired in 1963 on CTV. The late Peter Jennings was host of the pageant in 1964....
contest in 1978. Miss Dominion of Canada also represented the country at Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
from 1962 to 1979 after which the franchise was taken over by Miss World Canada
Miss World Canada
The Miss World Canada contest is an beauty pageant, held mostly annually in various incarnations and with several different names since 1957, to select Canada's representative to the Miss World contest. The Canadian franchise was currently owned by Upstage This! Productions, based in Vancouver,...
.
Notable Miss Canada Winners
Famous or notable winners of this pageant include Sandra Campbell of Leamington, Ontario, who became a television personality in Sydney, Australia (Celebrity Squares and One in a Million) and a marketing executive with a major American corporation. Another notable winner is Jacquie PerrinJacquie Perrin
Jacquie Perrin is a Canadian journalist. She was host of the CBC's Saturday Report and now current host of the Sunday 5:00 p.m. edition of CBC News: Today on CBC Newsworld. Her broadcast career began at CKWS radio in Kingston, Ontario where she hosted a daily TV talk show. She also put her...
, who for more than a decade was the host of CBC TV's award-winning investigative consumer program, Market Place. Now at CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
, Jacquie has been involved in various special news projects and is seen weekly as the host of highly-rated Saturday Report. Mary Lou Farrell
Mary Lou Farrell
Mary Louise Farrell is a Canadian singer, actress and former Miss Dominion of Canada.Farrell was educated at Holy Heart of Mary Regional High School and started to sing at an early age. She won several awards at the Kiwanis Music Festival. In 1964 Farrell was voted Miss Newfoundland and won Miss...
made guest appearances on the Lawrence Welk Show, and used her stage name Aniko in performing in many Broadway musicals.
The Pageant Lives On
Rumours that the Miss Dominion of Canada Pageant continued beyond 1979 have been present for many years. Despite the lack of media coverage from Canadian media, Miss Dominion of Canada delegates continued to represent Canada at various international contests, including Miss InternationalMiss International
Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...
, Maja Internacional and others throughout the 1980s. These women were selected by the franchise owners as Miss Dominion of Canada from 1980 until at least 1991; they included Linda Farrell (1987), Lee-Ann Bruce (1988) and Robin Nardi (1989).
There was also a Miss Teen Dominion of Canada Pageant for at least one year in the early 1970s.
Miss Dominion of Canada Pageant Director John Bruno died in 2004.
A history of Canadian beauty contests, including Miss Dominion of Canada, is currently under development in book form.
Winners of Miss Dominion of Canada Pageant
| Year | Winner | Hometown | Distinguished Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Catherine MacKintosh | Thunder Bay Thunder Bay -In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
(last contestant to compete at Miss World Miss World The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951... ) |
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| 1978 | Brigitte Hoffman | Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe... |
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| 1977 | Marianne McKeen | Comber, Ontario | (last contestant to compete in Miss Universe Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers.... pageant) |
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| 1976 | Pamela Mercer | Burnaby, British Columbia Burnaby, British Columbia Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver.... |
Miss Unity at Miss Universe 1977 | ||||
| 1975 | Normande Jacques | Blind River, Ontario Blind River, Ontario Population trend:* Population in 2006: 3780* Population in 2001: 3969* Population in 1996: 3152 * Population in 1991: 3355-Economy:Its main businesses are tourism, fishing, logging, and uranium refining.... |
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| 1974 | Sandra Margaret Emily Campbell | Leamington, Ontario Leamington, Ontario Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, southern Ontario, Canada, and has a population of 31,113. It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada. It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", with 4 km² of this crop in the... |
Miss Personality at Queen of the Pacific Pageant 1975 | ||||
| 1973 | Deborah Ducharme | Port Colborne, Ontario Port Colborne, Ontario Port Colborne is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario, Canada... |
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| 1972 | Bonny Brady | Perth, Ontario Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada . It is located on the Tay River, 83 km southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County.-History:... |
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| 1971 | Lana Drouillard | Windsor, Ontario Windsor, Ontario Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor... |
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| 1970 | Norma Joyce Hickey | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Semi-finalist at Miss International 1971 | ||||
| 1969 | Jacquie Perrin Jacquie Perrin Jacquie Perrin is a Canadian journalist. She was host of the CBC's Saturday Report and now current host of the Sunday 5:00 p.m. edition of CBC News: Today on CBC Newsworld. Her broadcast career began at CKWS radio in Kingston, Ontario where she hosted a daily TV talk show. She also put her... |
Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
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| 1968 | Nancy Wilson | Chatham, Ontario Chatham, Ontario Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on... |
Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1968 | ||||
| 1967 | Donna Marie Barker | Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
Semi-finalist at Miss World 1967 | ||||
| 1966 | Diane Coulter | Wheatley, Ontario Wheatley, Ontario Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation... |
Semi-finalist at Miss World 1966 | ||||
| 1965 | Carol Ann Tidey | Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe... |
Top 7 Finalist at Miss World 1965 Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1965 |
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| 1964 | Mary Lou Farrell Mary Lou Farrell Mary Louise Farrell is a Canadian singer, actress and former Miss Dominion of Canada.Farrell was educated at Holy Heart of Mary Regional High School and started to sing at an early age. She won several awards at the Kiwanis Music Festival. In 1964 Farrell was voted Miss Newfoundland and won Miss... |
St. John’s, Newfoundland | runner up at Miss World | ||||
| 1963 | Jane Kmita | Regina, Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox... |
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| 1962 | Marilyn McFatridge* | Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1962 | ||||
| 1962 | Marlene Leeson | Scotia, Ontario | >- | 1961 | Wilda Reynolds | Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
|
| 1960 | Edna Dianne MacVicar | Galt, Ontario | |||||
| 1959 | Eileen Butter | Ancaster, Ontario Ancaster, Ontario Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor... |
*Forfeited title September 19, 1962
See also
- Miss CanadaMiss CanadaMiss Canada was a scholarship competition for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. The first broadcast of the Miss Canada pageant aired in 1963 on CTV. The late Peter Jennings was host of the pageant in 1964....
- Miss Earth CanadaMiss earth canadaMiss Earth Canada is a beauty pageant held annually in search of the most beautiful and environmental-friendly woman in Canada. It is the official preliminary to the Miss Earth pageant...
- Miss Universe CanadaMiss Universe Canada-External links:*...
- Miss World CanadaMiss World CanadaThe Miss World Canada contest is an beauty pageant, held mostly annually in various incarnations and with several different names since 1957, to select Canada's representative to the Miss World contest. The Canadian franchise was currently owned by Upstage This! Productions, based in Vancouver,...