Trump threatens to tariff Canada over wildfire smoke choking northern US cities

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Trump threatens to tariff Canada over wildfire smoke choking northern US citiesImage source, Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty ImagesImage caption, Smoke from the massive wildfires has cast an orange haze over New York CityByNadine Yousif, Senior Canada reporter, Marco Silva, Verify and Zahra FatimaPublished17 July 2026, 13:45 BSTUpdated 16 minutes agoUS President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on Canada after hundreds of wildfires have left much of the northern US choked by a blanket of smoke. The threat follows complaints by US lawmakers over the wildfires and Ontario's premier Doug Ford asking the US to send support to fight the fires, rather than complain. "The United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," Trump said, threatening to impose new levies over Canada's "willful negligence".

As of Friday, there were about 888 fires actively burning in Canada, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, external - with the majority burning out of control. More than 190 of those blazes are burning in Ontario, some out of control. Trump said in his post to Truth Social that would call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to demand an explanation over his country's "willful negligence," accusing the country of "not properly maintaining" their forests and brush.

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Canada has not responded to the threat but Carney earlier noted that it was the responsibility of both countries to fight climate change. According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, nearly 3 million hectares of land in Canada has already been destroyed by the wildfires. The impacts have been far-reaching, with a thick blanket of smoke spreading across US states, from Minnesota and Michigan to Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

"Hazardous" air quality alerts have been issued across much of the region, leading to the cancellation of many outdoor events. As of Friday, air quality in Detroit was worst in the world, Swiss air quality tracker IQAir said, external, followed by the Midwestern city of Chicago, Washington DC, and New York in seventh place. The far-reaching impacts of wildfire smoke – and how to protect yourselfCanada fires prompt US air quality alerts as smoke blankets major citiesIn the open letter addressed to Canadian officials, US lawmakers John James, John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman and Lisa McClain said their "patience has run out".

"We are done accepting apologies in place of action," they said, warning the US could explore direct involvement in cross-border wildfire protection and firefighting if Canada failed to act. "We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not," they claimed, adding that instead "American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.