Trump threatens tariffs over Canadian wildfire smoke, says US air has been ‘poisoned’ | World

US President Donald Trump on Sunday stated that he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about wildfire smoke making their way into the United States. He further warned his Canadian counterpart of tariffs if the problem persists. While speaking to reporters, Trump said, “I told them. I mean, you got to stop these fires from coming in and you know poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned.”  “Have a good relationship with Mark Carney, but you know we got to stop the fires up there. If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs,” he added.

What did Trump say?

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump said Canada was responsible for the deteriorating air quality in several US cities. “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 wrote.

Trump’s remarks come days after the White House linked Canadian forestry management to trade penalties, with the US president previously accusing Ottawa of failing to curb toxic air pollution. He further accused Canada of “willful negligence” over forest management, stating that the smoke influx has caused significant economic harm at home.

It is to be noted here that the diplomatic standoff between the two countries continues to intensify as smoke from hundreds of active Canadian blazes migrates south, triggering public health alerts across several US jurisdictions.

Canada on fire

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said that more than 888 wildfires were burning across Canada on Friday, with most classified as out of control. Moreover, Ontario has been hit hardest, reporting over 190 active fires.

The resulting smoke has degraded air quality across several US states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, with Detroit recording the world’s worst air quality on Friday, followed by Chicago, Washington DC, and New York, according to IQAir.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said both Canada and the US share responsibility for tackling climate change, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Washington to send additional firefighting assistance rather than criticise Canada’s handling of the crisis.

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