U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping aside as the Democratic candidate in that country害羞草研究所檚 November election and throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris 害羞草研究所� a Montreal-area high school graduate who spent several years in the city.

Here害羞草研究所檚 what to know about her Canadian connections.

Before she became America害羞草研究所檚 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害羞草研究所檚 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害羞草研究所檚 website as a 害羞草研究所減ioneer害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 biography on the White House website doesn害羞草研究所檛 mention her time in Montreal, she later 害羞草研究所渞ecalled fondly害羞草研究所� 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.

害羞草研究所淭hey were so extremely bright and intelligent people, they were just so smart,害羞草研究所� former classmate Trevor Harris told The Canadian Press in 2020.

In a 1981 yearbook, Harris described her favourite pastime as 害羞草研究所渄ancing with Midnight Magic,害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所淐ongratulations Kamala! Class of 害羞草研究所�81!害羞草研究所�

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 害羞草研究所渄o everything it can害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所渁 range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,害羞草研究所� including the situation in Haiti and Ukraine, the readouts state.

They also 害羞草研究所渉ighlighted the deep-rooted partnership between Canada and the United States害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所渞eaffirmed their commitment to advancing shared labour priorities, including creating good-paying jobs, building opportunities for workers, and growing our economies,害羞草研究所� the prime minister害羞草研究所檚 office said at the time.

Biden on Sunday threw his support behind Harris, and described his choice to pick her as vice president as 害羞草研究所渢he best decision I害羞草研究所檝e made.害羞草研究所�

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 害羞草研究所渇ight with everything we害羞草研究所檝e got to elect her.害羞草研究所�

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Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press