Léonie Bélanger-Leblanc

**Léonie Sophie Bélanger-Leblanc** *(lay-oh'-nee)* is one of the seven Maplelea Girls released by Maplelea and the first to join the lineup after its initial release. She was released in **2008**.

## Character and Personality

Léonie is a ten-year-old girl living in Québec City, Québec. Her paternal family were Acadians who came to Québec from Bouctouche in New Brunswick along with colonists with Normandy, France who immigrated in 1640. Her family history also includes a bit of First Nations and Irish; her Irish ancestors were quarantined in Grosse Île in 1846 before being allowed into Montréal. Léonie's papa, Bernard, is a professor of forestry at Université Laval with an interest in trees and birds, and her maman, Nathalie, is a doctor who works at a CLSC, mainly with children. Nathalie, unlike her husband, can speak English perfectly and helps teach Léonie; the rest of the family, and 95% of the province, speak Français. Bernard tells Léonie that her and her mother are "smarter than most people," because what they know, they "know twice" (in two languages). Léonie also has two younger twin sisters, Justine and Camille, who often make "weird" after-school snacks, such as tuna, green apples and raisins. During the period after school, the children are watched by CEGEP college student Megane. The family lives in a "very old" house with a black mansard roof and two gardens.

Léonie is a curious and driven girl who loves to learn and teach others, especially about her culture. She often recounts her family history and has her own interest in it, being trained in old Québec songs and sometimes assisting her family in educational presentations in a traditional pionnière Québecoise costume at a nearby cabane à sucre. She is very social and has several friends; when she wants to play hockey, she phones all the other kids in the neighborhood to get them to play with her. She also often comes up with ideas to teach the other children about cultural aspects and in doing so has learned how to plan and execute activities. Because of this, she is very responsible. It is said that she likes to look her best, and takes particular care to coordinate her outfits. Some future careers she would enjoy are pop star, ornithologist, maman, or Olympic Hockey player.

Léonie loves hockey; it is her favorite sport and she "would play every day" if she could. Her Maman says that she "knew the names of the NHL teams before [she] knew the alphabet" and she received an orange whistle like the referees when she was four. Her family often goes to the Colisée to watch hockey games. Léonie herself is on her own hockey team, Les Félines du St-Laurent, and plays as a left wing at the Atom level. She also plays road hockey, table hockey and floor hockey. Her other favorite winter activity is snowboarding, which she does with her cousins, who call her "la roquette" due to how fast she goes. She has a snowy owl painted on her board, which she believes helps her fly down the slopes.

She is also very interested in music, as is the rest of her family. While Léonie left piano lessons due to finding it hard to sit still and practice, she now takes guitar lessons, though she mostly enjoys writing her own songs, hoping to make a band with her friends. She also plays flute for the school orchestra, something she enjoys as she can socialize and play music at the same time. Léonie's family also loves to read.

Léonie and her papa share an interest in birds; Bernard will often take one of his children with him to the park to look for different birds. Léonie's favorite bird is the snowy owl, though they have to go to a bird sanctuary to see it; she also loves cardinals. She also has a pet cockatiel named Piccolo, who sometimes sits on her head. Léonie notes that she celebrates his birthday every year.

She has several other family members spread around the country; her aunt Magalie lives in Québec with them and likes to research their family history. Her Tante Monique and Oncle Jean-Marc, along with their children, work at the cabane à sucre in the countryside, about half an hour from Québec City. Her Tante Josée and Oncle Benoît live in Montréal with their sons, Laurent and Olivier; Josée and Benoît will ski with Léonie's parents and sisters during visits while Léonie snowboards. Her maternal grandmother, Jeanne Bélanger, also lives in Montréal and does a lot of traveling. Léonie's paternal grandparents live in l'Île d'Orleans in a traditional, 300-year-old house, and her family visits for la Fête de St. Jean; her grandmother teaches her how to traditionally craft, and Léonie enjoys exploring the rocks and beach of the fleuve Saint-Laurent.

She also enjoys riding her bike, especially with her family. She walks with her little sisters to school, where she is in year two of cycle two, and in Mme de Roussan's class. Her favorite subjects are Fine Arts, Music and English, and along with being in the orchestra, she is in the Choir, Band Club and Lunch Monitors. At recess, she plays floor hockey and soccer with her friends. She has traveled internationally before, to Cape Cod in the USA, but would like to travel more places with her Grand-maman Bélanger. She admires Grand-maman Bélanger for her traveling, as well as Grand-maman Leblanc for teaching her crafting. Some other people she looks up to are Mary Two-Axe Early, Caroline Underwood, Lucille Teasdale, and the whole Canadian women's Olympic Hockey Team.

Léonie was born on June 24, which is also La fête Nationale du Québec, also known as La St. Jean. Her mother tells her she was "welcomed by the sound of fireworks" and has never stopped sparkling since. Léonie enjoys sharing her birthday with the holiday, because she feels "the whole world is celebrating with me!" Her family spends the holiday at her paternal grandparents' village, with a large bonfire, barbeque, fireworks and music.

She was the first to join the Maplelea girls after their initial founding due to meeting Alexi Neele; Alexi's class from Toronto came to Québec to learn about the area, and the two girls were paired up for their tours. Léonie was able to take Alexi's class to her tante and oncle's place, where they viewed the maple syrup production and made maple sugar taffy, as well as eating traditional food; during the meal, Léonie joined in on her family's presentation. Alexi told Léonie about the Maplelea Girls and invited her to join, which Léonie excitedly did.

## Family and Friends

### Family

* Dr. Nathalie Bélanger - Léonie's mother, a doctor.
* Dr. Bernard Leblanc: Léonie's father, a professor.
* Justine Bélanger-Leblanc: Léonie's seven-year-old sister, Camille's twin.
* Camille Bélanger-Leblanc: Léonie's seven-year-old sister, Justine's twin.
* Grand-papa and Grand-maman Leblanc: Léonie's grandparents who live in l'Île-d'Orléans.
* Jeanne "Grand-maman" Bélanger: Léonie's maternal grandmother who lives in Montréal.
* Monique - Léonie's aunt who works at a cabane à sucre.
* Jean-Marc - Léonie's uncle who works at a cabane à sucre as a fiddler.
* Josée and Benoît: Léonie's aunt and uncle who live in Montréal.
* Laurent and Olivier: Léonie's "Montréal Cousins" who snowboard with her.
* Magalie: Léonie's paternal aunt who lives in Québec. She likes to research family history.
* Several other unnamed aunts, uncles and cousins, who live in Québec, BC or Ontario.

### Friends

* Gabrielle O'Neill - Léonie's school friend who plays the drums.
* Amélie Gagnon
* Tirose Vincent
* Océane Côté
* Megane - Léonie's babysitter who is patient and good with music.
* Mme de Roussan - Léonie's school teacher.
* Monsieur Fortin - Léonie's hockey coach.

* Alexi: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Cabbagetown, Ontario. She invited Léonie to join the Maplelea girls after they were paired up on a joint school trip.
* Brianne: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Sandy Lake, Manitoba.
* Charlsea: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
* Jenna: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
* Saila: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
* Taryn: Léonie's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Banff, Alberta.

## Doll

*See Léonie Bélanger-Leblanc (doll).*

* Face Mould: Léonie face mould
* Complexion: Medium-light
* Hair: Long honey brown
* Eyes: Hazel

## Trivia

* Léonie's parents chose her name as it was an old family name that "sounds so musical."
* Her favorite flower is the Blue Flag Iris, Québec's flower.
* Her favorite tree is the Sugar Maple.
* Her favorite bird is the Snowy Owl.
* Her favorite music group is Bottine Souriante.
* Her favorite website is the Radio Canada children's website. *(web archive)*
* Léonie's favorite foods are veggies and dip, sandwiches with cheese, lettuce and mustard, juice, and breakfast cereal (without milk).
* She loves to celebrate New Year's Eve; her extended family celebrates at her house with a big party.
* Léonie can do an ollie on her snowboard, and was taught by Laurent and Olivier.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Léonie's Journal*
2. ↑ Maplelea Store - retrieved 14 June 2022

 ****Léonie Bélanger-Leblanc****