Brenda Montagano, a teacher at Parkcrest Primary School in Burnaby, British Columbia, had a special show-and-tell item Tuesday: her own class photo from the same school 34 years ago, with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss in the second. row.
Truss, who attended Grade 7 at Parkcrest in 1987-1988, is remembered by Montagano as a smart and funny student with a “cool British accent”.
“Sometimes I would sit with her in the hallway at work and she had a witty sense of humor,” Montagano said.
“You know, she would tell a joke and then she would have a bit of a half-smile after she told the joke.”
Montagano, who teaches 5th and 6th grades at Parkcrest, had his students guess which classmate in the photo was Truss.
Truss had shared the same photo on Instagram and Twitter to mark Canada Day in 2018.
“30 years ago, I spent a year in Canada that changed my perspective on life,” wrote Truss, who included the hashtags “CanadaDay,” “maplespirit,” and “pioneercountry.”
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Asked to identify herself, Truss said: “Pink sweatshirt. Big bangs.”
The stand-up collar, red-haired Montagano said it was “a bit surreal” to hear about his former classmate’s new job.
On Monday, 47-year-old Conservative Truss succeeded Boris Johnson to become the UK’s third female prime minister.
#UK PM @trussliz #BC school days: pink jumper, big bangs and a sense of humour. #LizTruss
Truss was living in Canada when her father, a mathematician, taught at Simon Fraser University.
Montagano, a teacher for nearly 25 years, recalled that Truss was also interested in math and “adjusted very quickly” during her brief time at Parkcrest, “no small feat” for a girl from a different country.
“Sometimes it takes a while for kids to adjust and make friends… She was only here for a year, but everyone remembers her because she fit in so quickly, made friends quickly and was part of the community,” Montagano said.
Montagano used Truss as the basis for a class activity Tuesday in which he invited students to write down their goals and dreams for this semester and beyond.
“We talked about how you never know where the person next to you will end up. And we also talked about how his actions and his words really come across to people,” Montagano said.
Andrew Lee, principal at Parkcrest Elementary School, said there was excitement in the halls when news of the Truss connection spread earlier in the school year.
“Knowing that a student who walked the same halls as them became Britain’s prime minister is inspiring to students,” Lee said in a written statement.
“It’s something tangible to show that they, too, can dream big and succeed, no matter what their interests and aspirations are. We’re proud of all of our students and staff, both current and former, and it’s so nice to hear that Ms. Truss remembers his time at our school so fondly.
Truss became prime minister after winning the Conservative leadership race, beating former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak in a party vote.
Truss has vowed to press ahead with tax cuts and action to tackle Britain’s energy crisis and overstretched health service.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 26, 2022.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.