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

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened Friday to increase tariffs on Canada due to smoke from wildfires in Ontario blanketing parts of the United States as Republican lawmakers escalated their complaints about air quality.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump posted on social media.

Wildfires are ripping through northwestern Ontario, forcing residents in several First Nations communities to evacuate. One remote community has been destroyed, with residents forced to flee in small boats.

Smoke from those fires is triggering air quality warnings across Ontario and in multiple states, including Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, New York and Indiana.

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.

It is unclear under what authority Trump would rely on to impose new tariffs on Canada. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s ability to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his sweeping and erratic “Liberation Day” tariffs and fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

The current 10 per cent tariffs on Canada were implemented using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Those tariffs were always seen as temporary because they expire after 150 days — at the end of July — unless Congress votes to extend them. They do not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

The Trump administration is looking to use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to rebuild his tariff wall through investigations into forced labour in supply chains.

Friday’s 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