As is often the case in U.S. politics—though normally on the Democratic side of the aisle—Canada’s health care system was raised as a functioning alternative to the American model. Specifically, GOP front-runner Donald Trump described Canada’s health care system as working just fine.
The facts are markedly different from Mr. Trump’s description. Canada suffers from a high-cost health care system that delivers only modest performance across most measures of health care. Put simply, Canada’s model of health care delivery and financing is not something to be emulated but rather avoided.