Canadian officials have issued air quality warnings as smoke from wildfires in the United States drifts across the border, days after US President Donald Trump threatened Canada with tariffs over its own fire management.
On Saturday evening, officials in British Columbia warned that smoke from US fires, fueled by thousands of lightning strikes in the north-east, was creating smoky conditions as polluted air moved north. “Much of this smoke is originating from fires south of the Canada-US border in Washington and Oregon,” the provincial wildfire service said.
Fires Burning Across Washington and Oregon
According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, the fire coordination agency for both states, 22 large fires are currently burning across Washington and Oregon. British Columbia has air quality warnings in place for two regions along the south-east border with the US: Kootenay Lake and Cranbrook.
Despite the US facing its own wildfire challenges, Trump and fellow Republicans have accused Canada of improper wildfire management and threatened sanctions. In a social media post on Friday, Trump wrote that the US had been “invaded” by dirty air and said the “cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.”
Wildfire Situation Across Canada
As of Monday, there were 843 active wildfires burning across Canada, according to the Canadian government. Of those, 181 are considered “out of control,” meaning the fires are spreading and not responding to suppressive actions. Another 532 fires are also considered “out of control” but suppressive actions have not yet been taken.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who sat alongside Trump at the World Cup final on Sunday, has sidestepped the criticisms. “Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States,” he told reporters last week.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario where many fires are burning, said on Friday: “If there’s 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.”
Eleanor Olszewski, Canada’s minister of emergency preparedness, said in a statement that Canada had invested C$12bn (£6.36bn) on fire prevention and forest sustainability over the past five years. “This is a challenge that knows no borders,” she said.
