Haines was born in New Delhi, India, to American-born parents, and was raised in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.
She grew up as a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States.
Her father, poet Paul Haines (best known for his lyrical collaboration with Carla Bley in the 1971 jazz opera Escalator over the Hill), often made cassettes of rare and eclectic music for his daughter to listen to, and her early influences included Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt.

Haines attended Etobicoke School of the Arts.
There she met Amy Millan (future member of Stars and Broken Social Scene), and Kevin Drew (future member of Broken Social Scene).
Haines and Millan briefly formed their first band around 1990 while at ESA.
Haines attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1992–1993, at Toronto in 1995, and at Concordia University in Montreal in 1995–1996.
She distributed in 1996 an early album titled Cut in Half and Also Double with a limited number of copies.
The album included songs written and recorded during her student years.

Shaw, who was born in England and raised in Ontario, was attending a Boston music school when he befriended singer Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman, both future members of the band Stars.
Campbell convinced Shaw to apply to Juilliard Music School and the two moved to New York City.
After a three-year classical music education at the institution, Shaw decided that his musical interests lay elsewhere; Shaw and Campbell returned to Toronto.

Haines met Shaw in Toronto in 1997; the two began dating and writing songs together.
In the same year, Shaw released his studio album, Life on the Clock, which featured Haines singing on some songs.
Shaw also moved to Montreal where Haines was living.
In 1998, calling themselves Mainstream, the pair self-released a five-song EP titled Mainstream EP with an overall downtempo and electronic feel.

At some point in 1998, they changed the band's name to Metric, which was originally the name of a sound that Shaw had programmed into his keyboard while working on a song.

In the fall of 1998, Shaw, Haines, Campbell, and Seligman moved back to New York City, where they shared a loft in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
Struggling financially during their two-year stay at the loft, Haines and Shaw were erstwhile roommates with future members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV on the Radio.

That same year, the band signed a development deal with Warner Bros. Records.
A producer in London listened to the demos they recorded in this period and offered to bring Metric to the United Kingdom for a possible record deal.
Eager to escape from the crowded conditions of the loft, Haines and Shaw set off to London in early 2000 and signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis Records.

With the help of the producer Stephen Hague, Metric recorded a set of new wave/synthpop drum machine paced songs.
The pair tired of recording demos, and in November 2000 returned to their Brooklyn loft to put a band together; they recruited Joules Scott-Key (a native of Flint, Michigan) as their drummer.
Haines was born in New Delhi, India, to American-born parents, and was raised in Fenelon Falls, Ontario. She grew up as a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States. Her father, poet Paul Haines (best known for his lyrical collaboration with Carla Bley in the 1971 jazz opera Escalator over the Hill), often made cassettes of rare and eclectic music for his daughter to listen to, and her early influences included Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt.
Haines attended Etobicoke School of the Arts. There she met Amy Millan (future member of Stars and Broken Social Scene), and Kevin Drew (future member of Broken Social Scene). Haines and Millan briefly formed their first band around 1990 while at ESA. Haines attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1992–1993, at Toronto in 1995, and at Concordia University in Montreal in 1995–1996. She distributed in 1996 an early album titled Cut in Half and Also Double with a limited number of copies. The album included songs written and recorded during her student years.
Shaw, who was born in England and raised in Ontario, was attending a Boston music school when he befriended singer Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman, both future members of the band Stars. Campbell convinced Shaw to apply to Juilliard Music School and the two moved to New York City. After a three-year classical music education at the institution, Shaw decided that his musical interests lay elsewhere; Shaw and Campbell returned to Toronto.
Haines met Shaw in Toronto in 1997; the two began dating and writing songs together. In the same year, Shaw released his studio album, Life on the Clock, which featured Haines singing on some songs. Shaw also moved to Montreal where Haines was living. In 1998, calling themselves Mainstream, the pair self-released a five-song EP titled Mainstream EP with an overall downtempo and electronic feel.
At some point in 1998, they changed the band's name to Metric, which was originally the name of a sound that Shaw had programmed into his keyboard while working on a song.
In the fall of 1998, Shaw, Haines, Campbell, and Seligman moved back to New York City, where they shared a loft in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Struggling financially during their two-year stay at the loft, Haines and Shaw were erstwhile roommates with future members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV on the Radio.
That same year, the band signed a development deal with Warner Bros. Records. A producer in London listened to the demos they recorded in this period and offered to bring Metric to the United Kingdom for a possible record deal. Eager to escape from the crowded conditions of the loft, Haines and Shaw set off to London in early 2000 and signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis Records.
With the help of the producer Stephen Hague, Metric recorded a set of new wave/synthpop drum machine paced songs. The pair tired of recording demos, and in November 2000 returned to their Brooklyn loft to put a band together; they recruited Joules Scott-Key (a native of Flint, Michigan) as their drummer.
Metric (band)