8-year-old Sophia LeBlanc the youngest to earn Nova Scotia medal of bravery

Two people have been awarded Nova Scotia’s highest recognition for bravery at a ceremony at Province House on Wednesday.

The Medal of Bravery is awarded each year to Nova Scotians who have risked their life protecting the life or property of others.

One of the recipients at Wednesday’s ceremony is the youngest Nova Scotian to ever receive the award.

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Sophia LeBlanc, 8, was only six-years-old on Nov. 11, 2018, when she was a passenger in her mother’s car as it lost control and landed upside down, and submerged in a river near Oxford, N.S.

LeBlanc was able to free herself and her youngest sibling from the car before she climbed a steep hill.

“I climbed up to get back on the rocks, and then I climbed up and waved for help,” said LeBlanc

LeBlanc’s mother, Candace Hicks, said that the young girl was calm throughout the rescue and stayed at the scene of the crash even as her family was taken in an ambulance to receive medical assistance.

“She was scared because there was blood and glass and everything,” said Hicks.

“She was by herself with first responders and the people who came to help, there were a lot of people. She was just having a great old conversation with them.”

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LeBlanc said it was “awesome” to be recognized for her actions. She said the experience has left her with a different understanding of what it means to be a hero.

Also recognized on Wednesday was Elijah Watts.

Watts was fishing with his father and another fisherman on the shores of Colindale in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on May 12, 2018.

The vessel capsized and the occupants were all thrown overboard.

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Watts was able to pull his father and the second fisherman ashore. Despite his efforts both men died in the accident.

“People like Elijah and Sophia make our communities stronger and inspire us all,” said Premier Stephen McNeil.

“On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I want to thank and recognize them for their bravery.”