Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is shortchanging Canadians on health-care funding, warns Premier Kathleen Wynne.

In her first public comments since Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick inked Christmas side deals with Ottawa increasing annual health transfers by 3.9 per cent, Wynne said the current federal offer is insufficient.

“There are 10 premiers and 10 ministries across the country that have said this is not adequate, it is not possible for us to meet the needs of the people in our provinces and territories without having additional funding,” she told reporters Tuesday.

Wynne noted that provinces already foot more than three-quarters of the cost of health care in Canada and need at least a 5.2 per cent annual hike from Ottawa to meet the demand for home care and mental health services.

“The offer that is on the table from the federal government right now would actually over time — the average is about 23 per cent — would actually go down to 20 per cent,” the premier said.

“So you know it’s just not adequate, it’s not possible for us to meet all the competing needs. That’s what the Financial Accountability Officer is highlighting,” she said, referring to the fiscal watchdog’s report signaling health cuts may loom.

“It is very important to have those objective voices to confirm what we’ve been saying in the national context.”

Last week, Ontario and Quebec joined five other provinces and all three territories in denouncing Ottawa’s proposal for a 10-year deal.

That came after three of the four Atlantic provinces signed side deals with “me-too” provisions that will ensure they are compensated if others reach more lucrative agreements.

Wynne was asked whether her Liberal government felt betrayed by the Liberal premiers of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia for signing unilateral deals with Liberal prime minister.

“I’m not going to second guess other leaders in the country,” she said.

Ontario officials estimate the federal proposal is effectively a $30 billion cut in federal health funding over the next decade — $12 billion in Ontario — because transfers had been rising at 6 per cent a year.

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