Trump threatens Canada with tariffs over ‘poison’ wildfire smoke

| Live News Reporter Published July 20, 2026 6:24am Updated July 20, 2026 6:24am Wildfire smoke from Canada has caused terrible air quality (Picture: Reuters) Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada because of the ongoing wildfires, which have sent smoke into the United States. Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed parts of the U.S. Northeast this weekend, obscuring landmarks from New York City to Washington, D.C. Yesterday, Trump said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the situation. Trump recalled: ‘I told him, “You’ve got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air.” Our air’s being poisoned. ‘I have a good relationship with Mark Carney, but you know, we got to stop the fires up there.’ Firefighters are trying to put out the deadly flames (Picture: The Canadian Press) He added: ”If we can help them, we’ll help them – but maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or [we] should do some tariffs.’ On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush. ‘The US is being ‘invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable.’ Forest fires are burning through the remote landscape of northwestern Ontario, with severe warnings in place across national parks near Lake Superior. A crew of engineers experienced the force of Mother Nature firsthand when being trapped inside the blaze. Footage captured inside the cabin shows a terrifying wall of orange flames surrounding their locomotive as the fire ripped through the tracks and woodland near Armstrong. Northwestern Ontario has been hit by at least 128 separate fires, forcing residents to leave their homes. Armstrong, where the apocalyptic scene happened, is under an evacuation order along with Lac La Croix First Nation, Collins First Nation, Whitesand First Nation and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation areas. Swathes of northern Ontario are under a severe heat warning, exacerbated by humidity making the temperature feel like 40C. Arrow MORE: Two Argentina players skip Donald Trump handshake after World Cup final defeat to Spain Arrow MORE: Spain star wants to ‘forget’ Donald Trump handshake in World Cup final Arrow MORE: Trump says people in ‘poverty-stricken UK are dancing in the streets’ over Burnham News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.