9 Manitobans honoured for water rescue heroism

Christian Clavelle was dozing off in a beach chair at St. Malo Provincial Park when he heard a shout seeking someone who knew CPR.

Jolted awake, he rushed down to the beach to find a three-year-old boy who had wandered into the water, face down and not breathing.

The 44-year-old from Winnipeg, who teaches first aid and was on a family camping trip with his wife and two children, began performing chest compressions. Quickly, the boy started coughing up water, regaining colour in his face and breathing again.

When Clavelle saw those signs, he raised a thumbs-up to the child’s panicking parents and the group that had gathered on the sand.

On Thursday, Clavelle and eight other Manitobans (including two park officers at St. Malo that day) received Rescue Commendation Awards from Lifesaving Society Manitoba and Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville for their bravery and quick-thinking during water rescues around the province in 2024.

The annual ceremony was held at Government House on the Manitoba Legislative Building’s grounds.

During the the events of that summer day on Aug. 3, Clavelle said he kept thinking about his own family and how he’d feel as the parent of the injured child.

“I remembered how important my own kids were to me,” he said. “Being able to save and carry the child of parents that could’ve lost their only child felt phenomenal.”

Clavelle has been first-aid instructor for 23 years and is the president of Canadian First-Aid Training. He said he’s taught thousands of people to do CPR, but that incident was the first time he has personally used it to revive someone.

Because of his training, he was “dialed in” and confident in the moment.

“I’ve been talking about it for years, like, this is what I do for a living,” Clavelle told the Free Press. “I was fortunate, and it’s not like that for everybody. But in this case, it was just right place, right time.”

The boy’s family later reached out to reconnect, Clavelle said. He added it feels lucky to have that type of closure, because he said not many first responders have such an opportunity.

The Thursday afternoon ceremony marked the second honour Clavelle has received for the St. Malo rescue. In November, he was presented the Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Award.

Drownings are the third-leading cause of accidental death in Manitoba, according to Lifesaving Society Manitoba.

An average of 21 people drown in the province each year, with 72 per cent occurring between May and September, as per 2017-21 data from the charity. Less than two per cent of drownings occurred in a lifeguard-supervised setting.

Lakes and ponds had the highest concentration of drowning deaths in the province, with 35 per cent.

When water rescues happen, the most important things are noticing when someone needs help and acting quickly, said Lynne Stefanchuk, executive director for Lifesaving Society Manitoba.

“People do extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances,” she said. “We want people to know that the citizens in Manitoba are willing to step up and help each other when something dangerous happens. It’s a wonderful thing.”

She said people should pay attention to their surroundings and always be watching any children in the water so they can prevent emergencies from happening. It’s common to hear people say they didn’t know someone was drowning, despite being close by, Stefanchuk said.

“People love to be around the water, especially in our country and province, and knowing what to look for to make sure people are safe is a great way to make sure you have a good time out there.”

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca