The transatlantic diplomatic row over smoky skies has escalated significantly, with US Republicans threatening sanctions against Canada in a dispute that is putting UK trade and travel links under scrutiny. Devastating Canadian wildfires have been blamed by US politicians for blanketing vast areas of the United States, causing hazardous air quality for tens of millions of Americans.
US President Donald Trump publicly attributed the smoke to Canada on Friday, stating that the US had been "invaded" by dirty air in a post on Truth Social. He suggested that the "cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying." This sentiment was echoed by Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who announced plans to introduce a bill next week to "sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity". Senator Moreno criticised Canada's government for allegedly failing to invest in wildfire prevention methods, including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson.
Four Republican members of the House of Representatives from Michigan, a state sharing a border with Canada, also wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Their letter warned that if Canada does not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States would "look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people". In response to the accusations, Prime Minister Carney stated on Thursday that "fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States". Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, suggested on Friday that the US should offer assistance rather than complain, noting Canada's past support for its southern neighbour.
Adding complexity to the situation, wildfires are also raging across the United States. The National Interagency Fire Center reports an above-average year for US wildfires, with over 5,740 square miles burned so far this year – a 31% increase compared to the average of the previous 10 years to this date. This includes significant blazes in northern Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, with smoke from US wildfires also affecting air quality in Canada. The amount of US land burned annually in the 2020s, averaged over the decade, is now more than double what it was three decades ago.
Canada's largest fire, near Ontario's remote Wabakimi provincial park, reportedly spans 787,802 acres. This is one of 191 out-of-control and large fires burning as of Friday morning, leading to thousands of evacuations and the destruction of at least one First Nations community. Toronto, which is currently experiencing a record-breaking heatwave, recorded the worst air quality globally on Wednesday. The intensifying and more frequent wildfires are attributed by experts to the planet's heating climate, driven by human activities, which creates warmer, drier summer conditions and extends the wildfire season.