Moose Jaw’s Valmire Berisha has been named the 2022-2023 Ms. Of Canada. 

Berisha competed in the pageant on Nov. 2 in Toronto, winning the opportunity to represent Canada at a number of pageants across the globe. 

She got involved in the pageant because she felt she lacked confidence and saw a friend had won Ms. Canada Petite. Berisha reached out to her friend to find out how she could get involved. She started competing because she wanted to make a difference in the world and felt she needed to do something big to have her voice heard. 

“This is very, very fresh to me. It's just this past year I’ve done this. I've never done modelling before this. I've never done anything as far as being a public figure goes,” Berisha explained. 

Berisha began preparing for the competition last year. She won the Ms. Saskatchewan competition to make it to Ms. Of Canada, which was supposed to take place in July, but was postponed until Nov. 2.  

She said a lot of work went into preparing to compete at Ms. Of Canada. 

“There was a lot of training. When I'm talking about training, we're practicing rehearsals, walks, what have you until 2 in the morning or 2:30. Sometimes we got two hours of sleep before having to do that all over again,” Berisha said. 

The competition consisted of a number of different portions including a talent competition where she recited a piece she wrote about mental health and a national costume competition where she dressed as a snow princess. 

Berisha said the pageant competition was like a big sisterhood and made a lifetime of friendships. Asked if she had any advice for any girls thinking of competing, she said to jump in and do it as it will boost your confidence. 

Berisha will now compete in the World Ms. City Queen in the Dominican Republic and Ms. Worldwide in Egypt.