Emma Morrison being crowned Miss World Canada 2022 on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Peter Jung Photography)

By Lisa Parent

Miss World Canada winner tours Medicine Hat schools

Oct 31, 2023 | 5:06 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Miss World Canada 2022 is currently on a school tour in Medicine Hat, showing Hatters that a pageant queen is made up of more than just sparkly dresses and crowns.

Emma Morrison was the first Indigenous Woman to win the Miss World Canada title last year. Her goal is to inspire youth to believe they can achieve their goals, just as she did.

“You could accomplish anything, whether it’s pageantry, if you want to go to university, if you want to be a hockey player, you could do it,” says Morrison. “You could come from a small reserve like me, small town of 1500 people, but again, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Morrison began began competing in pageants in 2016, facing many challenges along the way.

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“Another limitation that I felt that I had at the time was my anxiety. It was so bad to the point where I was passing out all the time and I just became so overwhelmed where my thoughts would just lead me to the ground,” explains Morrison.

Morrison’s presentation drew a diverse audience of students, each of them finding inspiration in Morrison’s story for unique reasons. Among them was Addisyn Helmle, an Indigenous student aspiring to attain a PhD in the future.

“I really connected to what she had to say and it, I think it’s so great that we have, as an Indigenous woman, we have a representative of who we are and what we can achieve,” Helmle says.

Grade 10 student Makena Duncan was inspired by Morrison’s experience with anxiety and working through stage fright.

“I thought she did a really great job. You would never know, unless she told you, that she was not very confident as a kid because she just exuded confidence,” says Duncan.

Now that Morrison has won Miss World Canada, her sights are set on Miss World’s in 2024.

“I really just want to do the best that I can to represent all the Canadians, but also Indigenous people,” Morrison says.

Morrison will be touring other Medicine Hat schools until Friday. Those wanting to support her on her journey can follow her on social media.