More than 200 wildfires are out of control in Canada, particularly in the province of Ontario, and the resulting smoke is moving into the northeastern United States. According to the latest figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), 207 fires are uncontrolled nationwide out of a total of 897 active fires. Nearly 2.8 million hectares have burned since the beginning of the year, according to the most recent federal government data. The situation is especially severe in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford said more than 80 wildfires are out of control.

Yesterday Ontario requested federal assistance and is receiving support from firefighters from other provinces, including Alberta and Yukon. More than 80 firefighting planes and helicopters have been deployed in Ontario. Another 39 aircraft are ready to fly to remote, road-inaccessible areas to help evacuate communities, many of which are predominantly Indigenous. So far, the fires have not caused any fatalities.

Smoke carried by the wind has produced extremely poor air quality in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada’s most populous city region, and across the eastern United States. Data compiled by the Swiss company IQAir showed Detroit, Chicago and Washington among the most polluted cities in the world today. Environment and Climate Change Canada warned that Toronto’s air quality, which had “improved” this morning, “will become very poor” again by evening and could remain so throughout the weekend.

Trump ire: “Canada responsible, unacceptable that U.S. air is polluted”

U.S. President Donald Trump said he considers Canada “responsible” for the fires occurring there, calling it “absolutely unacceptable” that smoke from the blazes is spreading into the United States. “We consider Canada responsible for not properly maintaining its forests and the vegetation within them, and for the United States being unnecessarily invaded by dirty, polluted and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous and absolutely unacceptable!” he wrote on Truth Social.

“I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they intend to do about this. The cost is incalculable!” Trump added, claiming that “Canada has refused to commit to basic forest management and debris removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result. This is intentional negligence that is becoming an annual event, costing the United States billions of dollars, a cost that this pollution must necessarily be added to the tariffs Canada is currently paying,” he said.

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