The annual Miss Ontario World beauty pageant competition took place on January 21, 2018 at the Toronto Hyatt Regency. Fifty contestants from across the province met to compete for the opportunity to represent Ontario in the national Miss World Canada competition, scheduled for August 2018. Miss World Canada is our country’s biggest and most reputable beauty pageant, and the official preliminary pageant to the international Miss World event, the largest beauty pageant on the planet.
How did you feel when your name was called as the winner?
Alice: This pageant finale didn’t have the top two girls standing out front holding hands. All fifty delegates were actually still standing on-stage, so it kept everyone in suspense. I was in the back row and although the audience could not see, we were all holding on to each other. It could have been any one of us.
What were the areas of competition you got judged on?
Alice: The scoring criteria covered a very wide range of components that ensured the judges select a well-rounded winner who is ready for the job. It included aspects such as how well we handled interviews, whether we participated in charity fundraising, our general behaviour, how photogenic we were, our evening gown, and swimsuit.You really need to be a well-rounded candidate and ready to represent Ontario.
This is your second time competing at Miss World Ontario. What made you compete again?
Alice: Last year, I placed as a runner-up for Miss World Ontario 2017 and I felt like I was so close. I took the year to reflect on feedback and improve. Unless there was improvement, there would be no point in coming back and repeating what happened last year.
I’ve been working hard to train and I wanted to give this one more shot. Historically, many girls win pageants not on their first time, but on their second time competing. I guess the second time’s a charm!
What was your favorite part of the competition?
Alice: favorite part would have to be meeting all the 2018 contestants while also reuniting with the 2017 titleholders. In pageantry, it is a tradition for previous titleholders to return to the next year’s event and pass on their crowns. Since this was my second year in a row competing, I was really looking forward to catching up with the friends I met last year. It felt like the best of both worlds.
Miss World encourages humanitarianism through the Beauty With A Purpose Project. What is your Beauty With A Purpose?
Alice: My Beauty With A Purpose project is a non-profit jewelry line I’ve founded that gives 100% of the proceeds to the SickKids Foundation. I combined my passion for fashion and entrepreneurship to come up with the idea.
I named the collection The Modern Princess to demonstrate the ideology that true beauty is not just how you look, but also the beauty you radiate from within. When you purchase something at my store, you will both look great and feel great!
What’s next for you?
Alice: There’s seven months until the national competition in August, so I will be working hard to prepare for that. In the meantime, my non-profit initiatives have been keeping my schedule quite full. I will also be working more on my Modern Princess jewelry store in hopes of reaching my new fundraising goal this year!
