Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant Jenna Talackova was eliminated from the pageant after making it to the final 12 finalists.

Talackova's name was not among those called when the final five contestants were announced at Saturday night's pageant.

The 23-year-old Vancouver native, who was initially eliminated from the Miss Universe Canada contest because she was born a male, made history as the first transgender female to compete for the title.

Talackova competed against 61 other women in what became a controversial race.

Talackova, who underwent gender reassignment surgery when she was 19, was disqualified from the pageant for not being a "naturally born female." That drew outrage from transgender-rights activists and led to a 40,000-signature petition to have Talackova reinstated.

The owner of the Miss Universe franchise, Donald Trump, ultimately relented and allowed Talackova back in the race.

While people around the world have hailed Talackova's inclusion in the pageant as a major victory for transgender men and women, some supporters of other Miss Universe Canada contestants complained that the 6'1" blonde was hogging the spotlight.

Talackova's plight has attracted widespread attention from international media, especially after she hired celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred to represent her.

Members of Saturday's panel of judges, however, said they would not be swayed by the attention surrounding Talackova.

"Maybe there will always be a sense of bias to a limited extent," judge Karim Kanji told CTV Toronto before the pageant got underway, but insisted all contestants would be treated fairly.

The evening gown and swimsuit portions of the Miss Universe Canada competition took place on Thursday, but Talackova did not win any of the smaller prizes that would have automatically bumped her to Saturday night's final round.

Saturday's winner will compete for the international Miss Universe crown in December.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Ashley Rowe