By Laural Samson [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Miss Canada Globe pageant may have been delayed for a month, but it is now back in full swing and Anne- Marie Turcotte, Hastings and Prince Edward County’s only delegate, is ready to compete.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) is the start of our competition,” Turcotte said about the beginning of the week-long pageant, which will see up to 15 girls from around the country come to Toronto to compete. “Since it’s been such a long time coming, I feel so ready and so excited.”
The Miss Canada Globe is the national preliminary competition to the Miss Globe pageant, which is competed at internationally. The Miss Globe pageant was established in 1988 and came to Canada in 2000.
Turcotte said that the focus of the pageant is volunteerism, professionalism, and uplifting women.
This will be Turcotte’s first pageant. She says she was selected through Instagram by someone who had competed in the pageant before and wanted to mentor a new competitor.
“I think it was one of those right time, right place type of things. I still feel so lucky and grateful that she took a chance on me.”
And after a whirlwind application process that had Turcotte signed up and ready to compete by the end of January, Turcotte said the last nine months have been spent volunteering and raising awareness for her platform.
“My platform is mental health advocacy for small and racialized communities,” Turcotte said, citing her Algonquin-Metis heritage and living so close to the Tyendeniga Mohawk reserve as part of her inspiration.
“We don’t have a lot of the same resources that Toronto, Kingston, or Ottawa would have as far as mental health goes,” Turcotte said about the limited resources a smaller community has, and how this can be difficult for those looking for mental health help.
“For me personally, trying to navigate that system, especially in my early teens, was very difficult. There’s no clear guide for how to access that help, there’s no clear steps that you should be taking. There’s mostly reactive care, not preventative care. And I want that to change. I want there to be care for every step of the way.”
Turcotte also said that while she and her immediate family is white-passing, she has seen a lot of her friends and family have a harder time getting access to resources.
“Living right near the Tyendinega- Mohawk territory here, I have seen a lot of my friends and a lot of my close family struggle with getting those mental health resources because of the colour of their skin.”
The winner of Miss Canada Globe not only wins the title and the ability to compete internationally, but also receives a scholarship to the school of their choice and a platform to begin making changes.
“While we do the fashion and couture part, it is also based around what you bring to the community and how you uplift those around you. That’s what the basis of the scoring and judging will be about,” Turcotte said.
“I think there’s a big stigma around pageantry in general, and I think that’s actively working to break that and push young woman to be active in their community and use their voices.”
And while the Miss Canada Globe winner will be chosen after a week of bonding, practicing, and competing, Turcotte said that she’s already blown away by all the support she’s received from her community for competing.
“I think that’s what makes it really unique; it’s being able to have such an elevated platform and talk about those causes that are important to you, while having a community and the support of so many people behind you. I haven’t even gotten there and the support I’ve felt is amazing.”