Kamala Harris’ Canada connection: Why her US presidential run makes ‘perfect sense’ for some

After U.S. President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris is now in a position to potentially become the first woman to be president of the United States — as well as a potential Democratic presidential candidate with intimate ties to Canada.

Harris spent a few formative years in Montreal, graduating from Westmount High School in 1981. In her own words, she touched upon her time in the city in her memoir, The Truths we Hold: An American Journey. She described arriving in the city as a 12-year-old in the mid-1970s when her Indian-born mother Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer researcher, took a job at McGill University.

Dean Smith, co-owner of the Trevor Williams Kids Foundation, attended that high school at the same time as Harris and he has a niece and nephew who were in the same grade.

“I’m happy to see that she’s a Black lady… She could be the first woman of the United States president, you know what I mean? And because she was here in Montreal, we went to school together, that’s the whole play right there. I’m happy,” he said on Monday.

“That’s the best connection you could ever have!”

In addition to potential bragging rights, Smith noted that her experience as vice-president and the potential for her to run for president prove incredibly inspirational for local youth, especially for young girls.

“It lets them see that they could follow the same path as her … they could do the same thing here.”

Dean added that his memories of her at Westmount match the person he sees in the news and that she even “smiles, laughs the same way.”

“The same way she is now is the same she was then … no matter where you put her, she gets along with anybody.”

Democrats Abroad Canada chair Erin Kotecki-Vest is