US Vice President Harris recalls childhood in Canada in call with Prime Minister Trudeau

Two leaders also spoke about threat of Covid-19 and two Canadians held by China

US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, January 29, 2021. EPA/Bloomberg

US Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by phone early on Monday.

It was Mr Trudeau's first conversation with the newly elected vice president and followed his call to President Joe Biden on January 23.

The two discussed Ms Harris’s childhood in Canada, the prime minister’s office said.

"She recalled fondly her years spent in Montreal,” the office said.

Ms Harris moved to Montreal from California with her mother and sister when she was 12.

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, did pioneering research on breast cancer at the city’s premier hospital, the Jewish General.

Ms Harris attended Westmount High School, a large English-language school in the predominantly French-speaking province.

After graduating from high school, she returned to the US where she attended Howard University in Washington DC.

Ms Harris and Mr Trudeau discussed the continuing threat of Covid-19 and other issues, including the status of two Canadians who have been detained in China since 2019.

“Prime Minister Trudeau thanked Vice President Harris for the United States’ ongoing support to free Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been arbitrarily detained in China,” his office said.

The two leaders said they looked forward to a meeting between Mr Trudeau and Mr Biden.