U.S. President Donald Trump wants to hold Canada responsible for wildfire smoke
With wildfires burning across northwestern Ontario, Canada’s wildfire smoke has blown down into a number of U.S. states and cities.
At the time of publication, Detroit, Mich., ranked as having the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir. Washington, D.C., ranked as number four.
According to CNN, air quality alerts have been issued for more than 100 million people in 18 states and the District of Columbia, with poor air quality from northeast Minnesota to southeast Virginia.
While various U.S. lawmakers have been making noise online about the smoke, the U.S. president decided to chime in today.
Wildfire smoke at Niagara River, Ont. | olbrsnv/Shutterstock
On Truth Social, Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on Canada to pay for the cost of air pollution. He said he would call Prime Minister Mark Carney to find out what Canada’s plans are.
“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!”
He called the cost “incalculable” and said that “Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result.”
Trump claimed that the pollution costs the U.S. “billions.”
All active fires in Ontario on July 17, 2026. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
According to CNN, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump couldn’t use emergency power to levy tariffs, but he has looked into using other statutes to do so.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke with ABC News, where he told the U.S. that they “need support.”
He shouted out to Governor Maura Healy of Massachusetts for calling and offering help.
“Neighbours have each other’s backs, which is why Ontario has always been there for our American partners in their time of need,” Ford wrote on X.
In early 2025, when wildfires ravaged Los Angeles, Canada responded by sending firefighters, aircraft, equipment, and other firefighting resources.
As of Friday, there were over 900 active wildfires across Canada, with 189 of them in Ontario.
On July 15, Mark Carney posted on social media about the wildfire situation, noting that it had ” significantly increased over the last three weeks across the country, and particularly in Northwestern Ontario.”
He said that the federal government is ” in close contact with provincial, municipal, and Indigenous partners and stands ready to provide any additional support as needed.”