President Trump on Friday threatened to add the cost of pollution from Canadian wildfires to his existing tariffs on Canada, accusing Ottawa of "Willful Negligence" in a Truth Social post as smoke from Ontario blazes shrouded Chicago, Detroit and New York.
The threat pulls a natural disaster into an already frayed commercial relationship, two weeks after the White House said it would withdraw from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada, the second-largest U.S. trading partner, currently faces 10 percent duties, though most goods enter under USMCA exemptions. A Supreme Court ruling earlier this year narrowed Trump's ability to use emergency economic powers to raise tariffs unilaterally, complicating the mechanics of any pollution surcharge.
The post
"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," Trump wrote. He called the cost of the pollution "incalculable" and said the damages "must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying." Trump said he would call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday "to find out what they are going to do about it."
The post landed as air quality alerts covered more than 100 million Americans, with smoke over Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said on X that the agency would "strongly encourage" Ottawa "to do everything in their power to extinguish these fires as fast as possible."
Ottawa's answer
Carney's office referred CBS News to a statement from Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management, saying the country is "working with urgency alongside provincial and territorial partners" and has spent billions of dollars on forest fire prevention. Olszewski noted that Canadian crews helped fight last year's Los Angeles wildfires. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra had praised the countries' cooperation earlier in the week before amplifying Trump's post on Friday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province is the epicenter of the current fires, was blunter. "I truly believe the Americans are good neighbors," Ford told reporters Friday. "If there's some politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends."
Republicans push further
Four Michigan Republicans — Reps. John James, Lisa McClain, John Moolenaar and Jack Bergman — wrote Carney this week that "our patience has run out," faulting "chronic under-investment in forest thinning, fuel reduction, and prescribed burns." Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio floated sanctions against Canada, and Rep. Nick Langworthy of upstate New York wrote on X that "there should be consequences" absent "meaningful action."
The climate angle
Scientists have linked the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires to human-caused climate change, a framing Carney invoked to reporters Thursday. "Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States," Carney said, contrasting Canadian investment in clean energy with U.S. rollbacks. The New York Times reported Friday that the Trump administration in recent months has moved to dismantle federal labs that study wildfire smoke. In March, a group of universities sued the administration over cuts to the country's largest federal climate research center, and Trump has suspended U.S. support for dozens of international climate initiatives since returning to office.
What's next
Trump traveled to New York on Friday for a FIFA reception at Trump Tower ahead of Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in northeastern New Jersey, where poor air quality is forecast to persist through the weekend. Whether the promised call with Carney produces more than the last exchange — and whether any pollution surcharge can survive the Supreme Court's tariff limits — will shape both the trade fight and the air over the Northeast next week.