U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says President Donald Trump‘s threat to impose new tariffs over smoke from Canadian wildfires should be taken seriously, arguing the ongoing haze is causing economic damage in the United States.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed several major American cities, including Detroit, Washington and Chicago, prompting Trump to lash out at Canada on social media Friday.
“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, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said the wildfire smoke amounts to “Willful Negligence” and is “becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars.” He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.”
About 30 minutes after Trump’s post, Hoekstra sat down with Global News for an exclusive interview, where he defended the president’s position.
“The president is saying, yeah, I’m holding Canada accountable. We need to fix this,” Hoekstra said.
Hoekstra would not say how large any potential tariffs could be or what legal mechanism the administration might use to impose them. But he said Canada could face consequences if the issue is not addressed.
“There are potential consequences if we don’t get to a resolution as to how we’re going to address the issue of forest fires and smoke,” he said.
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The ambassador pointed to what he described as economic and environmental impacts in the United States from the smoke.
“Businesses are closing, because they don’t feel it’s safe for their workers to go into work. You know, bees are not pollinating,” Hoekstra said.
When pressed on the reference to pollinators, Hoekstra added: “Bees, I mean, I didn’t know that, but, you know, what do you do to get bees to pollinate?”
He also argued the wildfire smoke is “directly affect the American economy.”
“We are closing businesses, it is affecting the tourism industry.”
The frustration is not limited to the White House. Republican House members Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney this week calling for what they described as immediate action by the Canadian government.
“American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year,” the lawmakers wrote. “Sovereignty comes with responsibility, and the responsibility to prevent a foreseeable disaster from crossing into another country’s airspace has not been met.”
Trump has previously threatened additional tariffs against Canada when frustrated with Canadian policies, including a proposed 10 per cent levy linked to the Ontario government’s anti-tariff advertising. Those threats were never implemented.
Asked whether the latest warning should be viewed differently, Hoekstra said, “Not taking the president of the United States serious — do that at your own risk.”
The comments come as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to affect air quality across parts of the northeastern U.S., adding another irritant to an already strained Canada-U.S. trade relationship.
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada added if smoke from the wildfires continue to blanket New Jersey ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, President Trump will not hesitate to ask the game be postponed.
“If the pollution is so bad that it’s dangerous to the players or it’s dangerous to the fans, the first person to say don’t hold the game will be the President of the United States,” Hoekstra said.
Hoekstra also said there is growing frustration in the United States over recurring smoke from Canadian wildfires. He said one proposal under discussion is having Canadian officials testify before Congress and state legislatures about the challenges of fighting large, remote wildfires.
Hoekstra said the idea has been raised with the Prime Minister’s Office and Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Mark Wiseman, and suggested the hearings could help American lawmakers better understand the unique challenges of fighting fires in remote areas of Canada.
However, a senior government source told Global News Canadian officials have no plans to testify at public hearings in the United States.
In February, the Trump administration revoked a scientific findings that have long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the president to roll back climate regulations.
Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate deal in 2025, removing the world’s biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.
–with files from Adriana Fallico, Katherine Cheng, Sergio Vargas, Ariel Rabinovitch, The Associated Press and Reuters