OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
7:33 AM – Saturday, July 18, 2026
President Donald Trump vowed to hold Canada accountable for “filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air” caused by wildfires in their forests by imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
“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 to Truth Social on Friday.
“I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it,” he asserted, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “The cost is incalculable!”
Trump argued that the wildfire smoke that created a haze over the Capitol, Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is due to Canada’s negligence and regular mismanagement of its forests.
“Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result. 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,” the president declared.
Hundreds of active wildfires in Canada have caused smoke to drift down across the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which prompted air quality alerts and health advisories for Americans.
According to The Washington Post this week, the Canadian fires could affect the air quality for about 100 million Americans. Per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to the fine particles in wildfire smoke can cause respiratory issues, eye irritation, coughing, difficulty breathing and worsen existing health problems.
Furthermore, ABC News reported that more than 800 wildfires have burned across Canada, including some of the largest blazes in western Ontario, north of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Carney dismissed Trump’s criticism during a press conference in London, Ontario, on Thursday, placing the blame on climate change and suggesting the U.S. is partially responsible for containing fires.
“Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States,” Carney told reporters in French, according to The Canadian Press.
Canada emphasized its partnership with the U.S. in fighting wildfires, which included sending firefighters and supplies to help with catastrophic blazes in Los Angeles in early 2025.
“This is a shared challenge, and it demands a shared response,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra stated on Wednesday. “I commend the outstanding cooperation between the United States and Canada as we confront these fires together. Our two governments are monitoring and sharing information in real time — coordination that reflects our partnership at its best.”
“Canada and the United States have a long history of working together to fight wildfires on both sides of the border,” said Canadian Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski on X.
President Trump has already announced plans to impose a 35% tariff on certain Canadian imports beginning on August 1st, though goods under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are treated separately.
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