Miss Dominion of Canada
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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, Miss World, 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 provide Canadian 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, however, throughout the 1970s, there were generally between twelve and twenty contestants.
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. 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.
[edit] Winners of Miss Dominion of Canada Pageant
| Year | Winner | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Catherine MacKintosh | Thunder Bay, Ontario | |
| 1978 | Brigitte Hoffman | Hamilton, Ontario | |
| 1977 | Marianne McKeen | Comber, Ontario | |
| 1976 | Pamela Mercer | Burnaby, British Columbia | |
| 1975 | Normande Jacques | Blind River, Ontario | |
| 1974 | Sandra Margaret Emily Campbell | Leamington, Ontario | |
| 1973 | Deborah Ducharme | Port Colborne, Ontario | |
| 1972 | Bonny Brady | Perth, Ontario | |
| 1971 | Lana Drouillard | Windsor, Ontario | |
| 1970 | Norma Joyce Hickey | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | |
| 1969 | Jacquie Perrin | Toronto, Ontario | |
| 1968 | Nancy Wilson | Chatham, Ontario | |
| 1967 | Donna Marie Barker | Toronto, Ontario | |
| 1966 | Diane Coulter | Wheatley, Ontario | |
| 1965 | Carol Ann Tidey | Hamilton, Ontario | |
| 1964 | Mary Lou Farrell | St. John’s, Newfoundland | |
| 1963 | Jane Kmita | Regina, Saskatchewan | |
| 1962 | Marilyn McFatridge* | Toronto, Ontario | |
| 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
