U.S. President Donald Trump says the cost of pollution from wildfire smoke drifting south of the border “must” be added to the tariffs imposed on Canadian goods.
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” the president wrote Friday on Truth Social.
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“This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.”
Trump is the latest U.S. politician to criticize Canada for its handling of the wildfires. Earlier this week, a handful of Michigan state representatives claimed Canada has not done enough to address the smoke, which has led to deteriorating air conditions in northern U.S. states.
Republican representatives John James, Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar penned a letter Thursday titled “Canada’s Apologies Won’t Clear Michigan’s Skies.”
They accused Canada of not acting with “urgency” to address wildfire smoke in recent years, and claimed “nothing has changed except that our patience has run out.”
James, a Trump-endorsed candidate for governor of Michigan, took to social media Thursday to issue a “final warning to Canada” to better manage the fires, adding “American lungs” are paying for Canadian “inaction.”
“Sovereignty comes with responsibility, and the responsibility to prevent a foreseeable disaster from crossing into another country’s airspace has not been met,” he wrote.
Detroit topped the IQAir global index for poorest air quality in the world on both Thursday and Friday. Toronto held that rank on Wednesday.
Response to Trump’s comments
The president’s wildfire comments drew reaction from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno took a shot at Prime Minister Mark Carney on X, writing that Canada’s wildfire management was proof “you don’t have to be very smart to get elected as a liberal, you just have to be woke.”
In another post, Moreno claimed that taking every automobile in America off the road for a year would equal the pollution spreading to the U.S. in a few weeks. He didn’t cite statistics or a source.
“We are being systematically gassed by inept Canadian politicians,” Moreno wrote, adding a check mark to “higher tariffs,” “sanctions” and “victims fund,” seemingly referring to hypothetical measures against Canada.
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain and a prominent conservative commentator, agreed with them.
“YESSS! Thank you President Trump!!! Our children can’t go outside and we’re all ensconced in lethal levels of smoke because of Canada’s failed policies,” she wrote on X.
Dimitris Soudas, who served as director of communications for former prime minister Stephen Harper, defended Canada in a lengthy post on X.
“The reality is that Canada’s forests cover nearly 350 million hectares, roughly nine per cent of the world’s forests, much of it remote wilderness where fire has been a natural part of the ecosystem for thousands of years,” Soudas wrote. “No country on Earth has the capacity to remove every tree, every branch, or every piece of combustible material across landscapes of that scale.”
He urged the U.S. to work together with Canada to tackle the challenge of wildfires.
“Climate conditions, prolonged drought, lightning strikes, insect infestations, and extreme weather have all contributed to longer and more severe wildfire seasons across North America,” Soudas wrote. “This is a shared continental challenge, not a uniquely Canadian one.
Perry Johnson, a businessman running to be governor of Michigan, praised Trump for “holding Canada responsible” for what the U.S. president said was the country’s improper management of forests resulting in the polluted air.
“Thank you President Trump for stepping in where Michigan leaders have failed. We must hold Canada accountable for this crisis and make sure it doesn’t happen again!” he wrote on X.
More than 900 wildfires active in Canada
Meanwhile, several Ontario communities have been evacuated as wildfires tear through the region, dealing yet-untold damage.
“It’s terrible,” said Diane Laybourne, who fled to Thunder Bay, Ont., after an evacuation order in her home community of Armstrong. “Having to go out in it, you just want to get in some place where the air is clean.
There were 43 new active wildfires reported on Friday — 15 of those being human-caused, 18 natural and 10 undetermined — bringing the total to 903 across Canada, an increase from the 858 reported Thursday, according to the national wildfire summary.
Of those 903, 122 are burning out of control, 29 are being held and 73 are under control.
Instead of ‘chirping,’ send help: Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked Friday about the growing number of American criticisms on wildfire management. In response, he alluded to Canada’s contributions to fighting U.S. fires in recent years, including those that ripped through California last year, and assistance during the Georgia hurricane in 2024.
“If there are some politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends, and that’s what you’re supposed to do,” he said.
Just days ago, 56-year-old Canadian pilot Nicholas Dale was killed while fighting a forest fire in Colorado. Dozens of first responders honoured his death during a procession in Grand Junction, Colo.
With files from CTV News’ Ethan Morneau, Christl Dabu, Phil Tsekouras and Michele Brunoro.
