Mariana Valente of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada was 23 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2009 at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto, Ontario on May 16, 2009. She competed against 62 other candidates.
On August 23, 2009, Valente represented Canada at Miss Universe 2009 at the Imperial Ballroom on Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. She competed against 82 other candidates including Venezuela’s Stefania Fernandez, who won the title.
Runner-up to Fernandez was the Dominican Republic’s Ada de la Cruz and the respective second, third and fourth runners-up were Kosovo’s Marigona Dragusha, Australia’s Rachael Finch and Puerto Rico’s Mayra Matos. Valente was unplaced.
On June 14, 2010, Valente went back to the John Bassett Theatre and crowned her successor Elena Semikina, 26, of Toronto. The latter will represent Canada at Miss Universe 2010.
Currently, Canada has 16 Miss Universe placements including the coronation of Karen Baldwin in 1982 and Natalie Glebova in 2005. The most recent one was in 2006 when Alice Panikian finished in the Top 10.
Miss Universe Canada 2010
| beauty pageant: Miss Universe Canada international membership: Miss Universe |
| edition: 8th date: June 14, 2010 venue: John Bassett Theatre, Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada candidates: 62 |
FINALISTS
| PLACEMENT | NAME, AGE, HOMETOWN |
| Top 20 | Ania Bureacenco, 19, White Rock Ava Ferdowsmakan, 19, Markham Divine Uwikirezi, 25, Verdun Katie Starke, 19, Uxbridge Paniz Yousefzadeh, 19, North Vancouver Polina Lukashova, 22, North York Theresa Crame, 24, Vancouver |
| Top 12 | Ashley Avery, 20, Clarenville Belinda Kim, 25, Toronto Maria Mejia, 21, Montreal Netasha Ramganesh, 22, Brampton Sandra Kirilovic, 22, Niagara Falls Sarah Bernier, 23, Drummondville Summer Anne Ross, 26, Belle River Tiffany Munro, 26, Edmonton |
| Top 5 | Aleksandra Malkin, 22, Concord Ashley Callingbull, 21, Enoch Elena Semikina, 26, Toronto Neda Derakhshanfar, 21, Calgary Zaahra Al-Aubiydy, 21, Ottawa |
WINNERS
| PLACEMENT | 2010 | 2009 |
| 4th runner-up | Zahra Al-Aubiydy Ottawa | Isabelle Grastin North Toronto |
| 3rd runner-up | Neda Derakhshanfar Calgary | Neda Derakhshan Upper Canada |
| 2nd runner-up | Ashley Callingbull Enoch | Ksenia Mezenina South Toronto |
| 1st runner-up | Aleksandra Malkin Concord | Ylenia Aurucci Victoria |
| Miss Universe Canada | Elena Semikina Toronto | Mariana Valente Richmond Hill |
CONAN Daily 