As Madison Kvaltin stood on stage, waiting for the final results at the Miss Universe Canada pageant last month, she closed her eyes and said a prayer, hoping that it was her time.

That prayer came true, because on Aug. 19, she was crowned Miss Universe Canada. The 25-year-old, who recently moved from Greater Sudbury to Manitoulin Island, will now represent Canada at the Miss Universe 2023 Pageant in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Nov. 18.

“I had done everything possible for the stars to align,” Kvaltin said. 

“I won’t lie, I was super, super nervous, and I wasn’t quite sure if it would go in my favor or not. My reaction was just so unapologetically me. I instantly started crying. I was just so excited, so happy, and just finally took a deep breath and was like, ‘Oh my God, I did what I needed to do. I’m so proud of myself.’”

The 25-year-old told Sudbury.com in June that as a teen, she had competed in the local Miss North Ontario Pageant, but had put pageantry behind her when she entered her post-secondary studies. 

After graduating from Queen’s University with a bachelor’s degree in business and sociology in 2020, Kvaltin started a couple of business ventures, an athleticwear company called Skilla Athletics and a marketing business called Mad Media Marketing. 

She also created a community called The Body Love Club, where she uses social platforms, workshops, empowerment retreats, mindful movement classes, mental health walks and self-defence classes to empower others through movement.

She also decided to take a stab at the pageantry world once again.

In 2022, she competed at Miss Universe Canada, and as the first runner-up, was given the title of Miss International Canada, giving her the opportunity to compete in the Miss International Pageant in Japan, placing in the top eight. 

In preparing for the Miss Universe Canada pageant, Kvaltin fundraised for SOS Children’s Villages.

Hospitalized with an eating disorder in her youth, Kvaltin uses pageantry to highlight her message of body confidence and mental wellness.

“It was a really, really long process for me to recover and really empower myself,” she said. “I really wanted to become a beacon of hope for other girls and guys that struggle with eating disorders. So for me, pageantry kind of became this new incredible platform for me to promote those causes that I’ve been working on.”

Kvaltin is now in the process of preparing for the Miss Universe pageant. While she has some international pageantry experience from the Miss International Pageant, “it’s the big leagues now,” she said.

She will be travelling to Miami, Florida, this month to attend a gala with some of the other Miss Universe candidates. “So I’m super excited for that,” she said. 

Kvaltin is currently in a whirlwind of training and organizing, “just continuing to work on my philanthropy, my runway, my interview craft. It’s really dialling in on everything that I’ve prepped for Miss Universe Canada now for the global stage.”

As for her goals for the future, she said she just plans to continue to work on her businesses, although life will look very different if she’s actually crowned Miss Universe.

“I’m putting in 110-per-cent effort just as I did to Miss Universe Canada to win this as well,” she said. “If I win, then it’s a whole new job. So then for the next year, I’ll be working with Miss Universe, and I’ll be traveling and volunteering and helping people and continuing to grow my philanthropy. So ideally, that’s the dream job over the next year.”

Kvaltin said she would encourage those who might be interested in pageantry to get involved, as it has shaped the person she is today, learning interviewing and speaking skills that have been an asset in her working life.

“One hundred per cent,” Kvaltin said. “I definitely don’t think I’d be the woman I am today if it wasn’t for pageantry.”

Heidi Ulrichsen is a journalist with Sudbury.com. Inspire is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.