FIND THAT CANADA ANGLE — KAMALA HARRIS’ VP pick, Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ, shares a thing or two with Canada. There’s the deep trading relationship with what some have dubbed Canada’s 11th province. There’s his “Minnesota nice” attitude — the kind of guy who would chat you up in the Tim Hortons lineup, back when they were plentiful in his state. And the folksy governor with a humble upbringing gets along great with Ontario Premier DOUG FORD. Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada BRUCE HEYMAN says these sorts of cultural and personal ties matter a lot, whether it’s Harris’ time growing up in Montreal or her newly minted running mate living just next door. “Having these existing sets of experiences and relationships are what Canada looks for,” he tells Playbook, noting he was constantly being asked while in office about what then-President BARACK OBAMA, or JOE BIDEN or even DONALD TRUMP think and say about Canada. “In this particular case, you have a team that knows Canada, likes Canada, maybe even loves Canada, and has a depth of experiences that every Canadian would look over and say, ‘I can be comfortable with that with my neighbor next door’ — in fact, not only comfortable, but excited to see that as a possibility.” Not that the GOP ticket doesn’t have its own Canada ties, from the JD VANCE/JAMIL JIVANI bromance to the fact Trump’s grandfather once ran a Canadian brothel. Heyman, who organizes for Democrats Abroad, was also quick to strike a contrast with the other ticket. “The Harris-Walz team is better for Canada than the Trump-Vance team at every level,” he said. “Trump himself is very transactional. We saw it. ‘You give me this or I'll do this to you.’ You can see the tone and style is incredibly different with Harris-Walz.” During the Trump administration, Canadian politicians and stakeholders of all stripes had to pull out all the stops to remind Trump and everyone in his orbit about the importance of the bilateral trading relationship. — But, but, but: Former Canadian diplomat LOUISE BLAIS told Playbook in a recent conversation about Harris’ ties to Canada that it’s often hard to say just what kind of influence such cross-country connections will have, especially when the candidates don’t speak much about them. It’s often ultimately minimal. “At the end of the day,” she said, “you're going to represent the interests of your country based on your own political trajectory.” — Record check: Walz has been outspoken on protecting the domestic dairy industry —previously urging the Trump admin to get tough on Canada with trade law enforcement over controversial milk regulations that frustrated Minnesota farmers. Walz also sided with environmental and Indigenous groups against Enbridge’s replacing of the Line 3 oil pipeline that stretches across the north of his state. — On the ball: Premier Ford meanwhile says he’s “happy as punch” that a governor he’s cultivated a relationship with made the VP ticket. Reporters quizzed Ford about his ties to Walz after the Star’s ROBERT BENZIE detailed a cozy meeting in June where they had an impromptu game of catch with a football to the amusement of their aides. “We share a lot in common,” Ford said at a news conference Wednesday. “When we sat down. We tossed the football around a little bit in my office. We gave him a CFL football.” Ford has met with Walz numerous times, and the two are members of a group known as the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., KIRSTEN HILLMAN, is also familiar with Walz, and met with him in Toronto recently when he was on a trade mission. “We discussed our continued collaboration on our significant trade and people ties, shared security and defense priorities, the Great Lakes, climate and clean energy, and innovative health and agriculture technology,” Hillman said in a statement to Playbook. — Third rail: Canadian politicians have largely been careful to avoid directly commenting on the U.S. race as it heats up, or risk getting sucked in. “We’re going to work well together if he gets elected,” Ford said, then quickly balanced the comment. “I’ll work with anyone. I don’t care, Republican, Democrat — I don’t care who's in there, we'll work with them.” — Rare move: Liberal MP NATE ERSKINE-SMITH recently became the little-noticed exception to that rule, when he weighed in on his podcast that Trump is “bad for Canada.” “He was bad for Canada in his first term and he will be worse for Canada if he gets a second term.” — Related POLITICO read: ALEXANDER BURNS and JONATHAN MARTIN reveal a previously unpublished interview in which Walz talks about being targeted by Trump when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. — Related read: iPolitics’ DAVIS LEGREE interviews Ambassador Hillman on Canada’s pre-election prep work — just don’t call it a “charm offensive.” | 
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