Donald Trump has blamed Canada for an “invasion” of “polluted and unhealthy air” after wildfires in the neighbouring country unleashed thick smoke across the US, and raised concerns about the venue for the FIFA World Cup Final.
The American President directly blamed the Canadian leadership in a post on Friday morning, UK time, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that the US is “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!”.
“I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it,” he added. “The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result.”
He also threatened to impose additional levies against Canada over the air conditions, claiming: “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.”
It comes after hundreds of wildfires broke out in Canada over the past few days, with 888 actively burning as of Friday. 190 of them were in Ontario, which shares a vast 1,700-mile border with the US, BBC News reports.
Various US states have been hit with thick smoke, with air quality alerts issued for a dozens of them as of Thursday, including North Carolina, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Michigan and Wisconsin, The Guardian reports.
President Trump’s comments came after four Republican members of the House representing Michigan, just across the border from Canada, also blamed the Canadian government, writing in a published letter to Canada’s premier Mark Carney: “If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people.”
Responding to the claims on Thursday, Mr Carney said: “Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States.”
Following the US President’s bombshell rant on social media, Canada’s Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski noted the “long history” between the two countries of “working together to fight wildfires on both sides of the border”.
She said the Canadian government has pumped C$12 billion (around £6.4billion) in forest sustainability and fire prevention since 2020 in response to “increasingly common” warmer, drier weather.
“This is a challenge that knows no borders, and Canada is working with speed, collaboration, and coordination to keep people safe,” she added.
Scientists have challenged the allegation that failings by Canadian authorities are to blame, noting the complex challenge of preventing wildfire risks in remote areas of Canada, which has had to deal with naturally occuring fires for years.
Climte expert Dr Anabela Bonada, from the University of Waterloo, pointed to the impact of climate change, which she to the BBC is “a global issue, and it would be inaccurate to suggest that Canada alone caused or could have prevented these wildfires”.
President Trump has cast doubt on the effects of climate change despite consensus among expert surrounding its risks, previously claiming in an address to the UN last year the “carbon footprint is a hoax”.
The air conditions have sparked concerns about the World Cup final at New Jersey’s open-air MetLife Stadium on Sunday, but forecasters believe conditions will be improved by rain over the weekend ahead of the kickoff at 8pm, UK time.