Miss Dominion of Canada

Miss Dominion of Canada was a beauty pageant held in Niagara Falls, Ontario for many years, primarily in the Sheraton Brock Hotel, on July 1, Canada's Dominion Day (now known as "Canada Day"), beginning in 1959.

Sandra Campbell of Leamington, Ontario, representing Canada at the Miss Universe Pageant. Sandra represented Canada at Miss Universe in El Salvador, Miss World in London, Miss International in Australia, and Queen of the Pacific Pageant in Tokyo.

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 20 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

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 province 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.

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 Perrin, 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.

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 International, 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, Ontario	(last contestant to compete at Miss World)
1978	Brigitte Hoffman	Hamilton, Ontario
1977	Marianne McKeen	Comber, Ontario
1976	Pamela Mercer	Burnaby, British Columbia	Miss Unity at Miss Universe 1977; last Miss Dominion to compete at Miss Universe
1975	Normande Jacques	Blind River, Ontario
1974	Sandra Margaret Emily Campbell	Leamington, Ontario	Miss Personality at Queen of the Pacific Pageant 1975
1973	Deborah Ducharme	Port Colborne, Ontario
1972	Bonny Brady	Perth, Ontario
1971	Lana Drouillard	Windsor, Ontario
1970	Norma Joyce Hickey	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	Semi-finalist at Miss International 1971
1969	Jacquie Perrin	Toronto, Ontario
1968	Nancy Wilson	Chatham, Ontario	Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1968
1967	Donna Marie Barker	Toronto, Ontario	Semi-finalist at Miss World 1967
1966	Diane Coulter	Wheatley, Ontario	Semi-finalist at Miss World 1966
1965	Carol Ann Tidey	Hamilton, Ontario	Top 7 Finalist at Miss World 1965 Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1965
1964	Mary Lou Farrell	St. John’s, Newfoundland
1963	Jane Kmita	Regina, Saskatchewan
1962	Marilyn McFatridge*	Toronto, Ontario	Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1962
1962	Marlene Leeson	Scotia, Ontario
1961	Wilda Reynolds	Toronto, Ontario
1960	Edna Dianne MacVicar	Galt, Ontario
1959	Eileen Butter	Ancaster, Ontario

  *Forfeited title September 19, 1962

See also

• Miss Canada
• Miss Earth Canada
• Miss Universe Canada
• Miss World Canada

References

• Pageantopolis