Trump Blames Canada for Wildfire Smoke, Threatens Additional Tariffs

President Donald Trump blamed Canada for wildfire smoke affecting large parts of the United States and said his administration would add the costs of responding to the pollution to existing tariffs on Canadian goods, Reuters reported.

Wildfire smoke from Canada reduced air quality across parts of the United States as political tensions intensified. (Photo: National Interagency Fire Center)

Dense smoke from Canadian wildfires spread across parts of the Midwest and Northeast, prompting health officials to advise residents to remain indoors.

Trump said he would speak with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about what he described as Canada's failure to properly manage its forests.

"We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests ... and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added that the costs associated with the pollution "must of necessity be added to the tariffs Canada is currently paying."

Canada's Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, Eleanor Olszewski, responded that the federal government has invested C$12 billion (US$8.56 billion) in forest sustainability and wildfire prevention since 2020.

She also highlighted the long-standing cooperation between Canada and the United States in combating wildfires along the shared border.

Climate experts told Reuters that rising temperatures have contributed to drier forests and increasingly severe wildfire seasons across Canada.