U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping aside as the Democratic candidate in that country香蕉视频直播檚 November election and throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris 香蕉视频直播� a Montreal-area high school graduate who spent several years in the city.

Here香蕉视频直播檚 what to know about her Canadian connections.

Before she became America香蕉视频直播檚 first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president-elect, Harris spent several years in Montreal, where she attended Westmount High School from 1978 to 1981.

She moved to the city as a teen so her mother Shyamala Gopalan, a breast-cancer researcher, could work at the Lady Davis Institute of Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 Jewish General Hospital. Harris enrolled at Westmount after an initial stint at a French-language school.

Dr. Michael Pollak, who worked with Gopalan in Montreal, described her in a note published on McGill University香蕉视频直播檚 website as a 香蕉视频直播減ioneer香蕉视频直播� who left a mark on the institution, helping to develop a method of assessing cancerous breast tissue that became standard procedure at the Jewish General and other hospitals.

While Harris香蕉视频直播檚 biography on the White House website doesn香蕉视频直播檛 mention her time in Montreal, she later 香蕉视频直播渞ecalled fondly香蕉视频直播� her years there in a 2021 call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a summary of the conversation known as a readout.

Former classmates described Harris and her sister Maya as good students with promising futures ahead of them.

香蕉视频直播淭hey were so extremely bright and intelligent people, they were just so smart,香蕉视频直播� former classmate Trevor Harris told The Canadian Press in 2020.

In a 1981 yearbook, Harris described her favourite pastime as 香蕉视频直播渄ancing with Midnight Magic,香蕉视频直播� a dance troupe she founded with her friend Wanda Kagan, who remembers the two of them performing at community centres and at fundraisers.

The English Montreal School Board issued a statement congratulating Harris on becoming vice president-elect in 2020 that included a photo of students holding up hand-drawn posters reading 香蕉视频直播淐ongratulations Kamala! Class of 香蕉视频直播�81!香蕉视频直播�

More recently, as vice president, Harris has had several meetings and conversations with Trudeau.

In the same 2021 call in which she reminisced about her time in Montreal, Harris offered assurances that the Biden administration would 香蕉视频直播渄o everything it can香蕉视频直播� to secure the release of then-imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, according to a readout. The two Canadians were released later that year.

In subsequent calls and meetings, Trudeau and Harris have reportedly discussed a range of issues including women香蕉视频直播檚 entrepreneurship, the COVID-19 pandemic, gender equality, trade, and workers rights. The two met in May in Philadelphia, where they discussed U.S.-Canada cooperation on 香蕉视频直播渁 range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,香蕉视频直播� including the situation in Haiti and Ukraine, the readouts state.

They also 香蕉视频直播渉ighlighted the deep-rooted partnership between Canada and the United States香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渞eaffirmed their commitment to advancing shared labour priorities, including creating good-paying jobs, building opportunities for workers, and growing our economies,香蕉视频直播� the prime minister香蕉视频直播檚 office said at the time.

Biden on Sunday threw his support behind Harris, and described his choice to pick her as vice president as 香蕉视频直播渢he best decision I香蕉视频直播檝e made.香蕉视频直播�

Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton were also among a growing list of prominent democrats endorsing Harris for the Democratic Party nomination on Sunday, urging people to 香蕉视频直播渇ight with everything we香蕉视频直播檝e got to elect her.香蕉视频直播�

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Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press