Northern Ont. woman is first Indigenous winner of Miss World Canada
A woman from a First Nation in northern Ontario has made national pageant history as the first Indigenous winner of Miss World Canada 2022.
Emma Morisson is a 22-year-old proud Mushkegowuk woman from Chapleau Cree First Nation, 200 kilometres west of Timmins.
Over the weekend she competed in Toronto against 49 competitors from across the country and took home the crown.
"I was recently taught, it's not about being the first, it's about opening that door for others to walk through," Morrison told CTV News in a Zoom interview.
"And that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to show all Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous youth, and all Canadians that it doesn't matter how small the community or reserve you're coming from, you can still accomplish big things and make a large impact,"
Emma Morrison, Miss World Canada 2022, was crowned by the previous year's winner Jaime Yvonne VandenBerg. (Pageant Group Canada)
Not only did she win the title of Miss World Canada, she also won the Beauty with a Purpose 2022 title.
The Beauty with a Purpose portion requires all delegates to have a humanitarian project or be of service to their community.
Morrison's project involved reconnecting with her Indigenous culture by making traditional ribbon skirts, which took her a year to prepare.
"After the 215 unmarked graves were found at the Kamloops residential school, this inspired me to reconnect with my culture. And this is when I began sewing ribbon skirts for myself to wear to remind me to be proud to be an Indigenous woman and all these feelings I knew I wanted to share with others," she said.
"So this is when I began creating ribbon skirts for other Indigenous women to wear so they'll have a physical link to their culture and remind them to feel empowered, to be proud to be an Indigenous woman."
This is not the first national beauty pageant Morrison has won.
Her interest in pageants began when she won the title of Miss Northern Ontario 2017.
"Growing up in Chapleau, I really was just hunting and fishing and playing sports and doing all the small town northern things, but what attracted me to pageants is it was something new," Morrison said.
"It sounded so exciting to step outside of my comfort zone and be surrounded by empowering women."
She then went on to nationals where she won Miss Teenage Canada the same year and was the first Indigenous woman to win the title.
Miss Teenage Canada, Emma Morrison of Chapleau
After taking four years off from the pageant world to pursue her education in hair and esthetics, Morrison hasn't skipped a beat.
Now, she will spend the next year preparing for the Miss World competition in Vietnam.
"This is the oldest, most prestigious competition, beauty pageant in the entire world where I'll be meeting over 90 delegates to compete for the title," she said.
Her advice for other young beauty pageant hopefuls?
"Always be brave and have courage to step outside of your comfort zone and through this, it will only expand and open more opportunities for you," Morrison said.
She said in 2012, she was a young girl watching someone from her town compete in a pageant she would go on to win years later and calls her recent title a "full circle moment."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The root cause': Canada outlines national action plan to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Michael Cohen testified Monday that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his ex-boss Donald Trump’s company, an admission defence lawyers hope to use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
Red Lobster probes "endless shrimp" losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
'Next man up': Canucks coach, teammates bracing for Game 7 without Brock Boeser
Questions about how the team is going to handle the absence of star winger Brock Boeser from a do-or-die game seven dominated pre-game interviews with the Vancouver Canucks coach and players Monday morning.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Hwy. 144 crash kills northern Ontario motorcycle driver
A 33-year-old from Espanola was killed Sunday following a collision between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle on Highway 144.