President Donald Trump said Friday he is holding Canada responsible for wildfire smoke blanketing much of the United States and threatened to add the “cost of this pollution” to tariffs Canada already pays.
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the air crossing the border “filthy, polluted, and unhealthy.”
Trump accused Canada of “Willful Negligence,” saying the country refused basic forest management and debris removal. He said the smoke costs the United States billions of dollars and has become a yearly problem. “The cost is incalculable!” he wrote.
This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars. — President Donald Trump, on Truth Social
The president said he would call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the day “to find out what they are going to do about it.” Canadian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Axios reported. Trump did not say how such costs would be added to existing tariffs or whether he plans formal trade action.
Smoke Chokes 18 States
The post landed as more than 100 million people in 18 states and the District of Columbia sat under air quality alerts, with “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air stretching from northeast Minnesota to southeast Virginia, according to CNN.
Smoke from nearly 850 active wildfires across Canada — including more than 180 in Ontario — has drifted south, according to NASA data. Fine particulates pushed air quality indexes above the “hazardous” level in Chicago, Detroit and Toronto, and smoke also poured from fires burning in Minnesota, NPR reported.
Carney said Wednesday on X that the fires had “escalated significantly” in recent weeks, particularly in Northwestern Ontario, where thousands of people were forced to evacuate, CNBC reported.
World Cup Worries
The haze has raised concerns about Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey, which Trump plans to attend, according to NBC News.
Forecasters said pollution could linger into the weekend in some regions, though levels were expected to ease in others.
Trump has long targeted Canada on trade, and his administration declined to renew the USMCA pact in its current form earlier this month.
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