Trump calls Canadians 'nasty people' during Las Vegas speech

U.S. president also took aim at country's leadership as part of speech extolling tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at Canada on Wednesday night, calling the country — and its leadership — "nasty" during a speech in Las Vegas in which he also praised his administration's use of tariffs.

"I love tariffs, right? Because we’ve been screwed by tariffs used against us for years. By China, by Japan, by South Korea, by Germany, by everybody — by Canada," Trump said, as the crowd cheered.

"Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty," he said. "I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership."

WATCH | Trump calls Canada 'nasty' during speech:The U.S. president used the adjective to describe Canada a total of five times.

The comments follow pointed remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made earlier in the day.

When his Teleprompter malfunctioned during a news conference on Toronto housing, Carney smiled and made a quip.

"I would like to inform you that the Teleprompter has ceased to function. Unlike a certain world leader, I do not view this as a conspiracy," he said.

The comment was an apparent reference to Trump's demands for an investigation into "triple sabotage" after he encountered a halted escalator, a non-functioning Teleprompter and sound issues last year at the United Nations General Assembly, where he delivered a speech.

Rocky relations

Relations between Canada and the U.S. have been rocky of late, as the two countries work to address trade irritants and an upcoming Aug. 19 deadline, at which point the U.S. plans to put 50 per cent tariffs on about five per cent of Canadian exports to the country. The targeted goods range from alcohol to hockey sticks to cement.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette are back in Washington this week for more meetings with their U.S. counterparts. The pair will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Greer at his office in Washington, D.C., this afternoon.

On Tuesday, LeBlanc and Charette met with Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. On Wednesday morning, LeBlanc met with North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer and Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty.

Carney said he's been "very involved" in those talks.

Canada has already addressed multiple trade irritants listed by the Trump administration, including killing a planned digital services tax and rolling back a Canadian content levy on streaming companies — moves that appear to have done little to move the needle with the U.S. president.

The Trump administration has also taken issue with multiple provincial bans on U.S. booze. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has called the bans "devastating," highlighting that exports to Canada fell 63 per cent last year.

Canada has maintained that the booze bans were a direct response to previous U.S. tariffs and would only end as part of a comprehensive trade agreement with the U.S.

Carney has not ruled out retaliation if the additional tariffs come to fruition. But last week, he said he didn't see the "value" in using Canadian energy exports as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

"We have time, and we have real constructive negotiations that are happening on a number of issues," Carney added on Wednesday.