Tariff threat as Trump blames Canada for wildfire smoke
President Donald Trump blamed Canada for wildfire smoke spreading across the U.S. and said he would add the “incalculable cost” of fighting pollution to existing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Thick smoke from hundreds of Canadian fires blanketed parts of the United States from the midwest to the northeast on Thursday and Friday, prompting warnings for residents to stay home.
Trump, who has a contentious relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney, said he would call the Canadian leader to find out what he planned to do about the “completely unacceptable” situation.
“We hold Canada responsible for their failure to properly protect their forests and for the United States being needlessly invaded by polluted, polluted, and unhealthy air,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
“This is Willful Neglect and has become an annual occurrence costing the United States Billions of Dollars, the cost of this pollution must necessarily be added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.”
Eleanor Olszewski, Canada’s Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, said the government has invested C$12 billion (US$12.3 billion) in forest sustainability and fire prevention since 2020 as the country faces increasingly dry and hot weather.
He also touched on the long history of the U.S.-Canada partnership in fighting wildfires on both sides of their border.
“Our first priority right now is to protect Canadians and keep communities safe,” Olszewski said in a statement. he said.
Climate experts say that in Canada, home to some of the world’s largest forest areas, rising temperatures in recent years have led to timber drying and more forest fires.
Shortly after taking office in 2025, Trump imposed tariffs on many major imports from Canada.
Carney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
The United States can do more to combat climate change, which is leading to longer droughts and rising temperatures around the world, Carney said Thursday.
The two are expected to meet in the FIFA World Cup final to be held in New Jersey on Sunday.
Most of the fires occur in the giant province of Ontario and are concentrated in the remote and sparsely populated northwest, where the only means of transportation is by air.
So far, 2630 square kilometers have been burned; In 2025, this figure was 2430 square kilometers.
Thousands of people were evacuated.
The United States is also experiencing an above-average fire year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center; While 14,970 square kilometers have been burned so far in 2026, the 10-year average has been 10,930 square kilometers.
