Trump says U.S. is losing money ‘unwisely’ spent on Canadian health-care

President Donald Trump took a swipe at former prime minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s health-care system in a rant on Saturday against the country and its “emboldened” leaders.

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“You know, we had Trudeau, who’s not a good — not a good guy — loser, I mean, you know, I don’t — a loser,” Trump said during a rally in the city of Highland Heights, in Kentucky, where he was campaigning for Republicans ahead of crucial elections on Nov. 3 in which the House, Senate and 36 state gubernatorial seats are up for grabs.

Likely referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney, he then noted that Canada’s “current guy’s good,” adding “but he’s not nice when it comes to trade.”

“For years we’ve lost billions and billions of dollars, and they just felt so emboldened,” Trump said.

Kentucky is one of several red states targeted by the Carney government’s dollar-for-dollar tariffs. Several Canadian provinces have also banned U.S. alcohol, which includes the state’s sizeable bourbon industry. According to the U.S. government figures, 17 per cent of Kentucky’s total goods exports in 2025 went to Canada, its largest market.

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Trump also raised a long-standing gripe that the U.S. is “losing” US$90 billion to Canada. That money, he added, was for the “privilege of allowing Canada to have a health-care system and other things that they shouldn’t be having.”

“They spend money — they spend our money very unwisely,” he added.

Trump, who previously noted that the U.S. does not need “anything” from Canada, also said that a trade deal with the country would land “at some point.”

“We’re making a deal that’s gonna be amazing,” he said.

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