Incoming British prime minister Liz Truss attended B.C. school

The right-wing politician replacing Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom has a connection to British Columbia, where she spent part of her childhood.

Liz Truss was elected Conservative Party leader over the Labour Day long weekend, and will take office Tuesday amid the U.K’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Decades ago, Truss attended Burnaby’s Parkcrest Elementary School, while her father, a mathematician, worked at Simon Fraser University.

The 47-year-old posted a class photo to her Instagram page on Canada Day 2018, writing: “30 years ago I spent a year in Canada that changed my outlook on life.”

Truss received about 81,300 votes in the Conservative Party’s leadership race, beating former treasury chief Rishi Sunak, who received about 60,400.

Both candidates spoke admiringly of Margaret Thatcher and her free market approach to government.

After her election, Truss promised to enact a “bold plan to cut taxes and grow (the U.K.’s) economy.”