Caleb Gillett was commended for his heroic action in 2007 at a Burnaby council meeting on Dec. 12.
In June 2007, Gillett, who was 13 at the time, was swimming in the pool at his apartment complex with some friends.
He saw one friend at the bottom of the pool and dove twice to bring him to the surface - the boy's swimsuit was caught in the filtration system, and Gillett had to get him free of the suit.
The boy recovered after CPR was performed on him by a woman at the pool and, soon after, the paramedics.
Mayor Derek Corrigan presented Gillett with a Certificate of Commendation from the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, at the council meeting.
"You see how quickly the federal government gets things done," Corrigan joked about the certificate, awarded more than four years after the incident.
In 2008, Gillett also received a silver medal for bravery from the Lifesaving Society and a governor's gold medal for bravery - awarded for the single most heroic water rescue in the B.C. and Yukon.
