Tanisha Lafond photo courtesy missworldcanada.net

An Indigenous woman from Saskatchewan is looking to become the next Miss World Canada.

Tanisha Lafond is originally from Pelican Narrows and is competing in the pageant in Toronto this week.  She was crowned as Miss World Saskatchewan in April and he mom Crystal Merasty says that her daughter almost didn’t enter the pageant.  “It was a last minute thing and then after she won, she was able to come to Toronto for the Canadian pageant which takes place this weekend,” added Merasty.

She says Tanisha has been busy fielding calls for model shoots ever since she went to a convention in Saskatoon in May and ever since then, Merasty says the phone won’t stop ringing about invites to do photo shoots for different companies.

“Yesterday, she got a message from a clothing store in the UK called Woman at Large where they offered her to be a model search for a calendar shoot,” says Merasty.  “And if she is selected, she will go to do the shoot in Jamaica.”

Lafond has been in Toronto all week with other competitors for the Miss World Pageant.  Her mom says they haven’t spoken to her much because she has been busy every day with preparations for the event on Sunday.  But she says she did get to see her for s bit last night.

Merasty says her daughter has been somewhat overwhelmed by the whirlwind lifestyle since winning the Miss World Saskatchewan but says the family has been getting a lot of support from people back home in her quest to become Miss World Canada.

And Merasty says people can vote online for Tanisha as well, as there is that component to the pageant.  She encourages as many friends and family to help Tanisha by casting a vote each day on the Miss World Canada website.

Merasty says she hopes that some of the athletes competing for Saskatchewan at the North American Indigenous Games will be able to go and support her daughter during the pageant on Sunday evening.