Former President Donald Trump’s newly announced running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, has a Canadian connection: he is the former schoolmate and close friend of Tory MP Jamil Jivani.
The former president made the announcement July 15 that the Republican junior senator from Ohio would be his right-hand man and the next vice-president of the United States if Mr. Trump wins his second presidential bid this fall.
Mr. Jivani and Mr. Vance, both rookie politicians, have been friends since 2010 when they met at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut. It was there the then 20-somethings bonded at a wine-and-cheese reception where they both felt out of place.
“We went on to develop a strong friendship, forged through moments of shared discomfort over the course of our three years in the Ivy League,” Mr. Jivani wrote in a 2020 National Post
column. “We were by one another’s side for awkward interactions with professors and classmates, life-changing job interviews, and hundreds of hours of studying. We became such good friends that I eventually performed the Bible reading at his wedding.”
Mr. Vance married Usha Chilukuri Vance, whom he also met at Yale Law, in 2014.
The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Jivani for comment on Mr. Vance’s nomination but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Longtime Friends
Now in their late 30s, both men recently entered the political arena in their respective countries.Mr. Jivani is especially new to the political scene
after winning the federal riding of Durham, Ont., in a March 4 byelection. The seat was previously held by former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, who resigned as MP on Aug. 1, 2023.
The 36-year-old, who won with 57.4 percent of the vote, is a lawyer, author, and broadcaster who graduated from Humber College and York University in Toronto before going on to law school.
Mr. Vance, 39,
has been serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since Jan. 3, 2023. The former marine and venture capitalist first rose to fame because of his 2016 memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ His book was adapted into a Netflix movie starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams in 2020.
His political career began in 2022 when he won the Senate election in Ohio after an endorsement from Mr. Trump. The
endorsement was controversial at the time because Mr. Vance had excoriated then-presidential candidate Trump in 2016. Mr. Vance later said he grew to respect the Trump presidency and is now friends with the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Humble Beginnings
Mr. Jivani and Mr. Vance have more in common than being lawyers, and politicians. Both men had similar experiences growing up.
Mr. Jivani, who grew up in Brampton, Ont., was raised by a single mom. He has described his childhood friends and neighbours as the “children of middle- and working-class immigrants.”
“Growing up in the Toronto area, I never met a person who’d call himself a hillbilly,” he wrote in his 2020 column. “But my friendship with J.D. taught me that his Appalachian family and friends aren’t so different from my own. The challenges that many Appalachians experience—poverty, addiction, fatherlessness, inadequate health care—are challenges seen and felt by my loved ones, too. And the positive qualities possessed by many Appalachians—loyalty, resilience, striving—are qualities we also hold dear.”
Canadian Connections
Mr. Vance’s longtime friendship with Mr. Jivani is not his only connection to Canada.Canadian ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman says Mr. Vance is very familiar with his northern neighbour.
“I think, actually, he’s somebody who knows Canada well, who’s been very important for his state, who is essential to the success economically of his state, and we have already a bit of a relationship built, so that’s good,” Ms. Hillman said during an
interview with CTV’s Vassy Kapelos at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis., July 15.
Ms. Hillman said she’s met Mr. Vance “a couple of times,” because of his state’s close economic relationship with Canada.
“Ohio is the third largest exporting state to Canada, at over $20 billion a year,” Ms. Hillman said. “We’re a huge customer for Ohio, so [Mr. Vance has] come to a lot of our Canada-U.S. events and I’ve chatted with him there.”
Mr. Vance is commonly considered to be a populist conservative who has hopes of pushing the Republican Party “in a more pro-worker direction,” according to a December 2023
interview. He has also said he hopes of capitalizing on the working-class gains made by the likes of former President Trump.
Mr. Vance has also taken a tough stance on China, encouraging the United States to focus its efforts there.
“My argument is the Chinese are focused on real power. They’re not focused on how tough people talk on TV or how strong our alleged resolve is,” he said “They’re focused on how strong we actually are, and to be strong enough to push back against the Chinese, we’ve got to focus there, and right now, we’re stretched too thin.”
Janice Hisle, Joseph Lord, and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
