Donald Trump has threatened to hit Canada with tariffs, blaming the country for wildfire smoke that has drifted across the border and left major US cities under hazy, unhealthy skies.
‘We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush,’ the President wrote Friday in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said the United States was being ‘invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable.’
He also said he planned to call Prime Minister Mark Carney to demand an explanation, arguing that the financial impact of the smoke was impossible to calculate.
‘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.
The smoke has been fueled by wildfires burning in Canada’s Ontario province, where large blazes have sent thick plumes south into the eastern United States.
By Thursday evening, those smoke clouds had reached several major population centers, including Washington, DC, and New York City.
Trump likely encountered the smoky conditions firsthand in the nation’s capital and again while traveling to New York City for a work dinner Friday evening.
‘We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush,’ the President wrote on Truth Social Friday, threatening to tariff Canada further due to the smoke and pollution hitting US cities because of the blaze in Ontario
Thick smoke has blanketed major cities along the East Coast, including Washington, DC
The plumes have also choked residents in New York City
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC, and other areas have all seen major dips in air quality due to pungent white smoke creeping in from the northern border.
The National Weather Service has issued air quality alerts in at least 16 states.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the air is now considered ‘hazardous’ from northern Minnesota to Columbus, Ohio – the agency’s most severe air quality rating.
Trump’s ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra struck a different tone than the President in a post published earlier this week about the fires.
‘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.’
Carney called on the US to better address climate change when pressed Thursday at a press conference about 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 smoke 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.
Trump departs Washington to visit New York on Friday as haze can be seen around the White House
The smoke has been so thick in some areas around New York City that a visible haze can be seen over the city
The sun peeks through the haze from wildfire smoke over the Chicago skyline and the Chicago River on July 16
Trump has repeatedly sought to put pressure on Canada using tariffs during his second term.
Last year, the Republican imposed a 25 percent tariff on most Canadian imports, later increasing that number to 35 percent.
Though after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the President’s executive authority to enact tariffs, the fees were mostly rolled back, and now Canada pays roughly 10 percent on most goods imported into the US.
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.’
A train crew escaped safely after a wildfire surrounded their locomotive near Armstrong in Canada’s Northern Ontario, where widespread forest fires continue to disrupt transport and force evacuations
The US Capitol building surrounded by smoke from Canadian wildfires on Friday
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.’
The smoke has become so intense that major metropolitan areas, including Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC and New York City, ranked among the world’s most polluted cities on Friday.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, Michigan has been hit hardest by the smoke so far, with the entire state experiencing its worst air quality since modern records began in the early 2000s
