In a bold move, Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on Canada, blaming them for the wildfire smoke that’s suffocating US cities.
“We are holding Canada responsible for not properly maintaining their forests and brush,” the former president asserted in a post on Truth Social this Friday.
He expressed concerns that the United States is being inundated with “filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air,” describing the situation as dangerous and intolerable.
Determined to take action, he promised to reach out to Prime Minister Mark Carney for answers, emphasizing that the repercussions are immense.
Trump criticized what he called “willful negligence,” pointing out it has become an annual burden costing billions, which he feels should lead to increased tariffs on Canadian imports.
Fires that have been blazing in Canada’s Ontario province have caused massive plumes of smoke to blanket much of the eastern US.
Those plumes reached major US cities like Washington, DC, and New York City on Thursday evening.
The President likely experienced the smoky conditions in the capital and while traveling to New York City for a work dinner on Friday evening.
‘We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush,’ the President wrote on Truth Social Friday, threatening to tariff Canada further due to the smoke and pollution hitting US cities because of the blaze in Ontario
Thick smoke has blanketed major cities along the East Coast, including Washington, DC
The plumes have also choked residents in New York City, which has seen thick blankets of smoke
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC, have all seen major dips in air quality due to pungent white smoke creeping in from the northern border.
The National Weather Service has issued air quality alerts in at least 16 states.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the air is now considered ‘hazardous’ from northern Minnesota to Columbus, Ohio – the agency’s most severe air quality rating.
‘Thousands of Canadians’ lives have been upended, are being upended, by the wildfires across this country,’ Carney said on Thursday.
The smoke threatens to further derail relations between the US and Canada, which were already under strain from Trump’s repeated threats to turn its northern neighbor into its 51st state and uneasy trade relations hobbled by the President’s tariff regime.
Trump has repeatedly sought to put pressure on Canada using tariffs during his second term.
Last year, the Republican imposed a 25 percent tariff on most Canadian imports, later increasing that number to 35 percent.
Though after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the President’s executive authority to enact tariffs, the fees were mostly rolled back, and now Canada pays roughly 10 percent on most goods imported into the US.
The smoke has been so thick in some areas around New York City that a visible haze can be seen over the city
The sun peeks through the haze from wildfire smoke over the Chicago skyline and the Chicago River on July 16
A train crew escaped safely after a wildfire surrounded their locomotive near Armstrong in Canada’s Northern Ontario, where widespread forest fires continue to disrupt transport and force evacuations
Trump’s Republican backers were quick to support the President’s push for additional tariffs due to the fires.
‘Americans will not pay the price for the negligence of Canadian leaders,’ Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno wrote on X.
‘Four years in a row of record fires that have produced decades of environmental damage. Further proof that you don’t have to be very smart to get elected as a liberal, you just have to be woke.’
Many people beneath the smoke plume have reported a burning plastic smell in the air, which atmospheric scientist Matthew Cappucci said is caused by longer-lasting compounds, including benzene and formaldehyde, that remain after the smoke has aged during its journey.
Both benzene and formaldehyde are classified as Group 1 human carcinogens, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they can cause cancer in humans.
‘The smoke isn’t just annoying – it’s legitimately dangerous. It’s made up of microscopic particulates known as PM2.5, or itty-bitty particles less than 2.5 micrometers in width. That’s about 30 times thinner than a human hair,’ Cappucci shared on X.
‘Breathing them in is bad – it increases [the] risk of heart attack, respiratory issues, etc. You may also notice your eyes stinging.’
The smoke has become so intense that major metropolitan areas, including Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC and New York City, ranked among the world’s most polluted cities on Friday.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, Michigan has been hit hardest by the smoke so far, with the entire state experiencing its worst air quality since modern records began in the early 2000s