The fact about Donald Trump and the attack in Canada
Canadians have taken to social media to defend their country�s healthcare system after Donald Trump criticised it during the US presidential debate, characterising it as a slow, catastrophic system.
Some 30 minutes into Sunday�s heated debate, Canada�s universal healthcare system � an unrivaled point of pride for most Canadians � made a rare, if unflattering, appearance.
The swipe came as Donald Trump responded to an audience question regarding the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. After pointing his thumb at Hillary Clinton, he told the audience: �She wants to go to a single-payer plan, which would be a disaster, somewhat similar to Canada.�
Canadians, he continued, �when they need a big operation, when something happens, they come into the United States, in many cases because their system is so slow, it�s catastrophic in certain ways�.
Many Canadians on social media bristled at the remarks. Some pointed to figures published last year that estimated that 52,000 Canadians � less than 0.2% of the population � left the country in 2014 to access non-emergency healthcare in other countries.
Others pointed to reports such as that of Commonwealth Fund, which in 2014 ranked the US healthcare system last among 11 nations surveyed, despite being the most expensive in the world. The same report ranked Canada�s healthcare system second-last, but ahead of the US.
Many took aim at Trump�s remarks with comparisons. �Canadian life expectancy, 81 years. US, 78 years,� wrote one user. �At least we don�t have 45,000 dying a year due to lack of care like in the USA,� wrote another, citing a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
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