Canadian ties of Kamala Harris: What is known about her growing up in Montreal
Her Montreal years, including her time at Westmount High School and Vanier College, were foundational in shaping her values and career.
If Kamala Harris becomes the next American president in November, both Canada and the United States will be led by individuals who spent formative teenage years in Montreal.
However, their experiences differ greatly: one was already in the public eye, being the child of a sitting prime minister, while the other was a hesitant newcomer from sunny California, unsure of her place in a francophone city. The National Post examines Harris' time in Montreal.
How did Kamala Harris come to live on the top floor of a Westmount Victorian in the 1970s and 80s?
Kamala Harris, born in 1964 to Donald Harris, a Jamaican-American economist, and Shyamala Gopalan Harris, an Indian-American breast cancer scientist who passed away in 2009, spent her early years moving through various Midwest college towns.
After her parents divorced in 1971, she and her sister lived with their mother in California, while spending weekends with their father in Palo Alto. When Kamala was 12, in 1976, her mother accepted a position at the McGill University School of Medicine and the Jewish General Hospital, prompting the family to relocate to Montreal.
In her memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, Kamala recalls her distress over the move: "I was 12 years old, and the thought of moving away from sunny California in February, in the middle of the school year, to a French-speaking foreign city covered in 12 feet of snow was distressing.
My mother tried to make it sound like an adventure, taking us to buy our first down jackets and mittens, as though we were going to be explorers of the great northern winter. But it was hard for me to see it that way.”
Kamala Harris and her family settled into the top floor of a Victorian home in the affluent Westmount neighborhood. The move was challenging for Harris, who was accustomed to sunny California and had no knowledge of French.
Enrolling at the French-language primary school Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, she struggled initially, often feeling self-conscious about her lack of fluency and her frequent use of “quoi? quoi?” which made her feel like she sounded like a duck.
However, the transition improved when she switched to FACE school (Fine Arts Core Elementary School) for her eighth grade.
Founded in 1975, FACE school offered a creative and eclectic curriculum, including copper enamelling, macramé, poetry, interior design, yoga, and tie-dying.
For high school, Harris attended Westmount High School, a public anglophone school known for its diversity and less privileged demographic despite its name's association with old Montreal money.
The school drew students from Westmount as well as the Black neighborhood of Little Burgundy and beyond. Its most notable alumnus was Leonard Cohen, with other prominent figures such as Mila Mulroney and Stockwell Day trailing behind.
Harris’ yearbook quote expresses gratitude to her mother and encouragement to her sister Maya, with a cryptic message about her fond memories of “California, Angelo; summer ’80,” and her enjoyment of “Dancing with super six; Midnight Magic.” “Super Six” and “Midnight Magic” were dance troupes she was involved with, and her yearbook humorously notes, “Naw, I’m just playing!” when referring to her “Fav Ex.”
Kamala Harris's experience in Montreal was marked by her adjustment to a new environment and school, leading to a positive high school experience.
Her Montreal years, including her time at Westmount High School and Vanier College, were foundational in shaping her values and career.
Harris's supportive role in her friend Wanda Kagan’s life and her overall sense of comfort in her Montreal home contributed to her commitment to justice and safety, which guided her career choices.
Kamala Harris was too young to vote in the 1980 Quebec independence referendum, as she was only 15 at the time.
Despite her ineligibility, she showed a keen political interest early on. Her sister Maya has shared a story about Kamala organizing a successful protest when they lived in a building, advocating for children to be allowed to play on the lawn, demonstrating her early engagement with social issues.
