Trump threatens increased tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke in U.S. cities

Trump said he would call Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss the issue. He accused Canada of “wilful negligence” and claimed a lack of forest management and debris removal is costing the U.S. billions of dollars.

The post came as Trump travelled to New York on Friday for the FIFA World Cup reception. Soccer officials are watching anxiously to see how the smoke will affect Sunday’s final match in New Jersey.

The wildfires took a political turn in the United States this week as multiple Republican lawmakers came out in force to issue criticism and even threats of annexation over the wildfire smoke.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, said he will introduce a bill next week to sanction Canada over the smoke.

A text of the legislation provided to The Canadian Press says it would require the president to determine if Canadian wildfires harmed U.S. air quality, sanction Canadian officials the U.S. holds responsible for the smoke — through revoking visas and “blocking assets,” among other things — and “express a sense of Congress” that the Canadian ambassador is “persona non grata” until the smoke has cleared.

“My bill will declare an emergency, sanction all Canadian officials responsible, and study a victims compensation fund driven by imposing additional tariffs,” Moreno said in an emailed statement.

Asked about the U.S. criticism of Canada’s wildfire management during a Thursday news conference in London, Ont., Carney brushed it off. He said Canada is pursuing investments in clean energy, while the U.S. is actively working against clean energy.

“Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States,” Carney said in French.

Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, said the inconvenient truth is that everyone is paying the price for inaction on the climate crisis that is making forest fires burn hotter and wilder.

“Any politician, on either side of the border, who is serious about dealing with this problem would be doubling down on wind and solar power, not subsidizing new oil pipelines, LNG facilities or data centres fuelled by fossil fuels,” he said in an emailed statement.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday he spoke with two U.S. governors about sharing resources to battle the blazes. He also showed some frustration with the criticism coming from some American lawmakers.

Ford pointed out that Ontario water bombers were on standby during the devastating wildfires in California last year and the province sent linemen to help reconnect power after multiple U.S. states were hammered by hurricanes.

“A good neighbour, and I truly believe the Americans are good neighbours, 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,” he said. “And that’s that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Canadians and Americans have long fought fires in both countries side by side. A helicopter pilot from British Columbia died while battling an out-of-control fire in Colorado on Sunday.

Three other firefighters were killed along the Colorado-Utah border last month, shining a spotlight on the Trump administration’s adoption of a previously discredited policy of stomping out all wildfires quickly.

The Trump administration is focused on “full suppression” of new fires instead of using fire as a tool to burn off old growth that acts as fuel for catastrophic blazes — which is more in line with Canada’s approach.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2026.

— With files from Alessia Passafiume and Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa, and The Associated Press

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Trump threatens increased tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke in U.S. cities

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