Former Miss Universe Canada winner Ashley Callingbull interrupted her own duties hosting the 2026 Miss Universe Canada pageant on the weekend to call out multiple instances of what she described as cultural appropriation at this year’s event.
Just as director Sonny Borrelli was about to announce the top 20 contestants, Callingbull took the opportunity to speak.
“Sometimes there are mistakes that are made,” said Callingbull.
“It’s 2026. We should know better, but most importantly a part of reconciliation is that we educate and learn and understand and move on from these things in a good way.”
On Aug. 4, Miss Universe Canada hosted its national pageantry costume competition in Windsor, Ont., where 35 contestants were competing for this year’s crown.
During the costume portion, Karisa Haverkamp walked on stage wearing a turquoise, black and white feathered headdress and a small red painted hand on her cheek.
Jasleen Kaily, another contestant, walked out wearing a two-piece “Arctic Beauty” costume with brown fringes on the thighs, two braids and a maple leaf cutout on her back.
In an interview with CBC Indigenous on Friday, Callingbull said “my jaw just dropped on the floor.”
“This cannot be real. I just couldn’t get over that this was happening. Who allowed this on stage? Who approved this?” she said.
“Anything traditional or sacred should not be allowed. I was very, very upset.”
On stage, Callingbull told the audience that Borrelli assured her there will be guidelines implemented and cultural liaisons moving forward.
Callingbull then spoke on stage to the Indigenous community, adding that the organizers released a statement earlier in the week but noting that the statement needed an apology.
“On behalf of all of us at Miss Universe Canada, it was not our intent to offend anybody and if we did, we take full responsibility, we will learn from it,” said Borrelli, adding that Callingbull will be their cultural liaison moving forward.
Callingbull then spoke again.
“We’re going to make sure that everyone is going to be respected and honoured properly,” she said.
“And thank you for teaching us and we’ll learn from it, we apologize again, we love you,” said Borrelli.
Miss Universe Canada’s totem pole dress shocks First Nations people
Miss World Canada 2022 Emma Morrison said the costumes were culturally inappropriate and sexualized Indigenous people.
Morrison also said the hand print on Haverkamp’s cheek, which she believes represented Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), was not “the time or place” to make a MMIWG statement.
“When you’re on stage, you’re smiling to the judges and it just doesn’t fit,” added Morrison, who is Mushkegowuk Cree from Chapleau Cree First Nation in northern Ontario.
“The stage that we celebrated Ashley Callingbull on just two years ago is the same stage she is being disrespected on,” said Morrison, adding that she believes the incident stems from a lack of Indigenous education.
Callingbull, who is Plains Cree and is from the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta, is also the first Canadian and first Indigenous woman to win Mrs. Universe in 2015 and has championed accurate Indigenous representation in her modelling, acting and hosting career.
Callingbull said she immediately called the organizers the moment she saw the costumes.
“They were very apologetic and said they were being ignorant and that they didn’t know any better. I told them, ‘Unless you were living under a rock, we know that headdresses are not OK at Coachella, so they’re not OK on stage,'” said Callingbull.
Both costumes can be found on the e-commerce websites Etsy and Fashion Nova. Etsy calls the headdress “perfect for music festivals, Burning Man style outfits, Halloween, carnival, parades and themed parties.”
In a Friday statement, Miss Universe Canada said, “if any costume caused offense, hurt, or misunderstanding, please know that it was never our intention.”
CBC Indigenous also contacted Borrelli for comment but was unable to schedule an interview.
The pageant said it is actively implementing a comprehensive costume guide that will establish clear guidelines and standards for all future pageant cycles.
“Within that statement there was really no direct apology,” Morrison told CBC Indigenous on Friday.
Why these 2 Miss Indigenous Canada delegates are running in this year’s competition
Treaty 6 and 7 women celebrate winning Miss Indigenous Canada titles
In a post on her Instagram page, Haverkamp wrote she acknowledged and recognized that her outfit caused “hurt and offence” to the Indigenous community.
Haverkamp wrote she has learned from the incident and is committed to stand up and speak “for all women who have lost their voice because of violence, trauma and oppression.”
Kaily also took to Instagram and apologized, saying, “My intention was never to disrespect or misrepresent Indigenous culture” and upon developing her costume she wanted to “recognize and celebrate one of the First Peoples of Canada.”
CBC Indigenous attempted to contact Kaily and Miss Universe Canada but did not hear back.
CBC Indigenous reached out to Haverkamp for comment. She said she would talk to the Miss Universe Canada organization leadership before speaking and hasn’t responded since.
Aleria McKay, who is Onondaga from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario and the founder of Miss Indigenous Canada, said Miss Universe Canada has a history of cultural appropriation around Indigenous people, both on the national and international stage.
“The fact that they’re just allowing those types of things on their stage is in my opinion shameful,” said McKay.
Callingbull said the costume incident reminded her of her grandfather, who previously defended her when she faced racism in person.
“When he did that, he looked at me and said, ‘You know if you never speak up, nothing’s going to change.'”
