Kamala Harris' Canadian roots: Montreal classmates reflect on historic win – CTV News

TORONTO —
Kamala Harris has made history as the first Black woman elected as vice-president of the United States, a milestone her former classmates say she was destined for.

“When you look back you see certain people who are going to make a big difference in the world—that was Kamala,” former classmate Trevor Williams told CTVNews.ca by phone Saturday.

Williams and Harris both attended Westmount High, a public English-language high school near downtown Montreal, in the late 70s and early 80s. And like many fellow alumni, Williams is thrilled to share in a piece of Harris’ Canadian connection.

“She was brilliant—extremely smart,” he said. “I’m extremely happy for her and honoured to have known the family. Seeing a woman of colour in a significant role as vice-president is huge. I have two daughters and this is great for them to see.”

Harris moved from California to Montreal at age 12 after her mother, scientist Shyamala Gopalan Harris, accepted a research role at McGill University. In her memoir, Harris wrote about how the thought of moving to a French-speaking foreign city “was distressing, to say the least.” But those who knew her say she immediately found her place in the multicultural community.

“For her to come from California to Westmont High was probably a culture shock. She met kids whose parents were from Jamaica, the Caribbean, and as far away as India and Bangladesh. She met people who she could blend in with,” classmate Dean Smith told CTVNews.ca by phone Saturday.

“How you see her right now on the TV is exactly how she was 40 years ago—always laughing and smiling.”

As highlighted by Montreal’s mayor, the 56-year-old California senator has shattered many glass ceilings amid her historic win. The daughter of immigrants, she is the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency, representing the multiculturalism that defines both America and the Montreal neighbourhood she lived in.

“It’s not only the fact that’s she’s an alumni. She’s a woman, like me. She’s a South Asian woman like me,” classmate Anu Chopra Sharma told CTVNews.ca by phone Saturday.

“It’s nice to be able to say to your child, she looks like you. She has a name that is as different as yours and you can do it too.”

For Sharma, the win is doubly sweet. Having lived in Florida for the last 13 years, she notes the incoming Biden administration is an “immense relief.”

“I know that the transition is not going to be easy. We know that [Trump] is going to go out kicking and screaming and muddying the waters. But it’s almost as if there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

Though Harris is about to embark on her most important role yet, one that will present several challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, there is still hope that Harris will remember her Canadian roots.

“I know she may not know who we are… I would just love for her to see this and say, ‘Hey Westmont, thank you for the purple heart love,’ because we’ve been throwing it out there,” Westmount High teacher Sabrina Jafralie told CTVNews.ca by phone Saturday.

Prior to the campaign, Jafralie was eager to arrange for Harris to speak at the school, shedding light on her experience in the public school system.

“She’s not just a Black Indian woman, she’s a publically educated woman. For me as an ethics teacher it’s like a goldmine to tell my students that – education doesn’t have to be private it just has to work,” she said.

“She’s just broken so many major boundaries. I cannot wait to go to school on Monday and say in the midst of all this… greatness can still happen in any circumstance.”​ 

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