A homegrown Yellowknife model is getting his shot at becoming the next Mister Tourism World this December.
Drake Cairns will represent Canada at this year’s Mister Tourism World pageant in the Philippines this December. He was chosen after tying for first place in the Manhunt Canada competition in Toronto in June.
“It came down to me being Indigenous — for my heritage, I will suit tourism better, and the other guy will suit Manhunt (International) better, so that’s how they decided,” says Cairns. “I’m going to be a voice for the country and the Indigenous communities.”
Cairns, who was raised in Yellowknife, moved to Toronto to pursue a career in modelling and acting in 2017. He’s now preparing for the biggest event of his career so far — whoever wins will serve as an ambassador for tourism and hospitality for countries across the globe.
“This is international level — this is like Miss Universe International,” says Cairns. “I’ll be competing against so many countries and it’ll open up big doors.
“This is way more major than just Manhunt Canada.”
With a young son and a full-time job to balance with his modelling career, Cairns says he needed a break after competing for three months straight. Now, he’s ready to start training for the competition in Manila. The event will include swimwear and suit wear sections, among other categories. He’ll also be making an appearance at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival at the end of the month.
“I have a lot of training to do in the next couple of months,” he says. “But I mean, it’s all part of it, and the journey is the main part.
“I’m gonna train hard and make Canada and my community proud.”
