President Donald Trump has escalated his criticism of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as thick wildfire smoke from Canada continues to drift into the United States and worsen air quality in several major cities.
Speaking Sunday night, Trump said he had discussed the crisis with Carney after wildfires in Ontario sent enormous clouds of smoke across the border, leaving communities throughout the US under hazy skies.
The president described the call as positive, but said he delivered a blunt message to the Canadian leader: “You’ve got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air.” He added, “Our air’s being poisoned.”
Trump said he maintains a good rapport with Carney, though he insisted Canada must do more to contain the blazes. “We got to stop the fires up there,” he said.
He also suggested the US could offer assistance, while raising the possibility of financial consequences. “If we can help them, we’ll help them,” Trump said, before adding that Canada might need to pay damages “or something,” or face tariffs.
Trump called the wildfire smoke “terrible” and singled out Detroit, Michigan, where poor air conditions were linked to a serious incident at Ford Motor’s Michigan Assembly Plant. Several assembly line workers were taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The impact was not limited to Michigan. Smoky air also reached Washington, DC, and New York City on Thursday evening, adding to growing concerns over Canadian wildfire smoke and public health across the region.
Trump may have encountered the haze firsthand in the nation’s capital and again while traveling to New York City for a work dinner Friday evening, as the National Weather Service issued air quality alerts across at least 16 states.
President Donald Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday to ‘pay some damages’ for the wildfire smoke. The two world leaders are pictured at the FIFA World Cup 2026 final match on Sunday with First Lady Melania Trump and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum
Wildfires began when a July 6 thunderstorm caused more than 1,000 lightning strikes across Northeast Minnesota and Canada,
The smoke from the wildfires blanketed the eastern United States last week. An aerial view of the Detroit skyline is pictured on Thursday, as some auto factory workers were rushed to local hospitals
The president then made his first threat to impose tariffs on the US’s northern neighbor that day.
‘We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush,’ he wrote on Truth Social Friday.
The US is being ‘invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable,’ Trump added.
He vowed to call Carney to demand answers, claiming that the ‘cost is incalculable.’
‘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 said.
Some of Trump’s Republican backers were quick to support the president’s push for additional tariffs due to the fires.
‘Americans will not pay the price for the negligence of Canadian leaders,’ Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno wrote on X.
‘Four years in a row of record fires that have produced decades of environmental damage. Further proof that you don’t have to be very smart to get elected as a liberal, you just have to be woke.’
The poor air quality on Thursday was also felt in New York City
The sun peeks through the haze from wildfire smoke over the Chicago skyline and the Chicago River on July 16
But Trump’s ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, struck a different tone in a post published earlier in the week.
‘I commend the outstanding cooperation between the United States and Canada as we confront these fires together,’ Hoekstra wrote Wednesday on X.
‘Our two governments are monitoring and sharing information in real time – coordination that reflects our partnership at its best.’
By Thursday, Carney called on the US to better address climate change at a press conference about the complaints emanating from US officials.
‘We need a contribution from the Americans in the fight against climate change … climate change is everyone’s responsibility, including the US,’ Carney said.
The wildfires began when a July 6 thunderstorm caused more than 1,000 lightning strikes across Northeast Minnesota and Canada, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
They have now burned just under 68,956 acres and are continuing to blaze, threatening to bring more smoke to the country this week.
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Already, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert through Monday at 11am for large portions of the state, warning that fine particle pollution from the wildfire smoke is expected to reach the red category – which is considered unhealthy for everyone.
Parts of the state are also under evacuation orders.
Meanwhile, an Air Quality Alert remains in effect through Monday night in Chicago and northwest Indiana.
Many people beneath the smoke plume have reported a burning plastic smell in the air, which atmospheric scientist Matthew Cappucci said is caused by longer-lasting compounds, including benzene and formaldehyde, that remain after the smoke has aged during its journey.
Both benzene and formaldehyde are classified as Group 1 human carcinogens, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they can cause cancer in humans.
‘The smoke isn’t just annoying – it’s legitimately dangerous. It’s made up of microscopic particulates known as PM2.5, or itty-bitty particles less than 2.5 micrometers in width. That’s about 30 times thinner than a human hair,’ Cappucci shared on X.
‘Breathing them in is bad – it increases [the] risk of heart attack, respiratory issues, etc. You may also notice your eyes stinging.’
As those hazardous conditions continue, the smoke now also threatens to further derail relations between the US and Canada, which were already under strain from Trump’s repeated threats to turn its northern neighbor into its 51st state and uneasy trade relations hobbled by the president’s tariff regime.
Last year, the Republican imposed a 25 percent tariff on most Canadian imports, later increasing that number to 35 percent.
Though the fees were mostly rolled back after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the president’s executive authority to enact tariffs, Canada now pays roughly 10 percent on most goods imported into the US.
