In these uncertain economic times, who can you trust for sound financial advice?

A beauty pageant contestant, that's who.

Not that you should entrust your life savings to just any dishy diva who can sexily sashay across a stage in a swimsuit and an evening gown, mind you.

But you can put your financial faith in Bonnie Casey, a 23-year-old pageant contestant who is equally comfortable in power suits and bathing suits.

When she's not preparing for the March 21 finals of the Miss World Canada pageant, Casey is either doling out money tips as a financial adviser with RBC or hitting the books as a political science major at York University.

At the moment, she is also campaigning with the fervour of a politician seeking office, since online voting could launch her into the top 20 contestants in Miss World Canada.

Casey has already bested hundreds of other would-be beauty queens in the preliminary rounds of competition, and is now among 47 other women from across the country vying for the title of Miss World Canada. The winner will represent Canada at the Miss World pageant

Her outlook: "I think I have a great chance of winning."

Self-confidence is something Casey has in abundance, and with good reason. From her earliest performances in amateur theatre productions around her native Waterloo Region, she has found herself happiest and most comfortable when in front of a crowd.

Roles in high school shows at Eastwood Collegiate taught her that "any chance you can be in a forum where you can speak publicly and people will listen, that's great."

So when the opportunity arose last year for Casey to enter Miss World Canada, she figured the pageant would provide a perfect chance to lap up some more limelight while laying the groundwork for her future plans.

"I think this will definitely catapult me into any field I'm interested in pursuing," she says over the phone from her home in Mississauga. "It would help advance my platform."

Her platform, as she puts it, extends well beyond the Miss World Canada pageant. Her ultimate goal is to work as a foreign correspondent for a TV news organization, ideally somewhere exciting and perhaps even dangerous.

"Put a helmet on me and I'll go to a war zone," she says. "If I could become a global correspondent, that would be fantastic."

Again, this doesn't jive with the stereotypical image of a beauty queen, which is partly why Casey applied to the contest in the first place -- to overturn stereotypes.

As the daughter of a Jamaican mother and Irish father, Casey says she exemplifies the kind of ethnic diversity that has become one of Canada's hallmarks.

"With Canada being the way it is, I think I would be a great representation to the world as Miss World Canada," she says.

Earning that crown will not be easy, given that nearly 50 other women are vying for it as well. That's why Casey is so fervently encouraging anyone and everyone to vote for her at www.missworldcanada.com.

If she ranks highly in online voting between now and March 19, she'll automatically advance to the top 20 in the competition, greatly increasing her odds of winning the crown when the pageant is held on March 21 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto.

While Casey feels she can duly impress the judges with her ability to nicely display swimwear and an evening gown, she plans to really wow them during the interview segment.

"I love to talk," she says, "And when I talk I like for it to be about something important."

For now, the important things Casey talks about are the personal finances of her clients. But if the Miss World Canada pageant serves as the career launching pad she hopes it will, she could soon be reporting news from global hotspots.

"That is the ultimate goal," she says. "That would be ideal." The Record, Canada, 28.02.09