U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris has a “soft spot” for Canada and maintains a “very good relationship” with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to Canada’s envoy in Washington. 

Kirsten Hillman made the remarks from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she is attending the four-day event that will officially recognize Harris as the Democratic nominee.

“I think she has a soft spot for Canada because of her experience there,” Hillman said.  

“I think she has a soft spot for Canada because she’s from California, and California just has a massive relationship with Canada, but also in a lot of ways, we have some ideological commonalities with her,” she added.

When Harris was 12, she and her sister moved from California to Montreal with their mother, who had taken a position teaching at McGill University and conducting research at the Jewish General Hospital.

Harris lived in Montreal for five years, graduating from Westmount High School in 1981.

Hillman cited as an example Harris’s passion for fighting climate change, one she shares with Trudeau, and that this common ground has led Harris to feel a certain affinity for her northern neighbours. 

Hillman said Harris “has a very good relationship with the prime minister,” saying that when the pair meet, “they dig right into policy.”