Canada has over 900 wildfires, including 120 currently burning out of control. Smoke from the blazes has been choking American cities and towns from Minnesota to New York for days.Show Caption
President Donald Trump is threatening to charge tariffs to Canada over record levels of hazardous air drifting into the U.S. from hundreds of wildfires burning in the north."The United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!" Trump wrote in a July 17 post on Truth Social.The president said he would be calling Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to ask what his nation is going to do about the smoke problem, which he attributed to a lack of proper forest management in Canada."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 wrote.Canada has over 900 wildfires, including 120 currently burning out of control and more than a dozen near Canada's border with the states of Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine, according to the Canadian government. Ontario has been particularly hard hit, with widespread evacuations and many homes under threat.Smoke from the blazes has been choking American cities and towns from Minnesota to New York for days, with sometimes record-breaking poor air quality.Carney's press office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment about the tariff threat or the accusations that the nation has mismanaged its forests. But on July 16, Carney told reporters that "climate change is the responsibility of everyone, including the United States."He made the comment when asked about a letter that four Republican lawmakers from Michigan wrote to Carney about the smoke problem."Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them," according to the July 15 letter. "This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to.""Nothing has changed except that our patience has run out," the letter said. "We are done accepting apologies in place of action. If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people."The lawmakers said that can include "exploring direct involvement in cross-border fuel reduction and firefighting capacity" and "reconsidering how much benefit of the doubt this relationship continues to earn on an issue where American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year."U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, indicated that he plans to introduce a bill in the House on Monday to declare an emergency, sanction the Canadian government and revoke visas over the smoke.Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, told reporters on July 17 − before Trump's tariff threat − that his province has repeatedly helped the U.S. with wildfires.“I truly believe the Americans are good neighbors," he said. "If there’s 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."The Canadian government said on its wildfire page on Friday that "heavy smoke" is expected to continue over the coming days."Diplomatic engagement is being coordinated at the time of writing to discuss the wildfire situation and impact of wildfire smoke on U.S. states," the government said.Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers the death penalty, cold cases, and breaking news for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
