Trump tells Carney to take action on wildfire smoke during World Cup chat
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Canada with tariffs over wildfire smoke affecting American air quality. Canadian officials are defending their wildfire management efforts, citing significant investments and the scale of the environmental challenge.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing diplomatic tension between the U.S. and Canada regarding environmental policy and cross-border impacts of climate-related disasters.
Trump said he raised the issue of wildfire management with Carney when the two leaders appeared together to watch the World Cup Final between Argentina and Spain in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday.
"I told him, I mean, 'You got to stop these fires from coming in and, you know, poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned,'" Trump said at Joint Base Andrews after the game.
The U.S. president said he has a "good relationship" with Carney before reiterating his threat to impose financial penalties on his northern neighbour for the wildfires' impact on U.S. air quality.
"If we can help them, we'll help them. But maybe they should pay some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs. But it was terrible," Trump said. "I mean you had businesses closing in particular Michigan."
Carney says he told Trump that Canada is 'managing' the wildfires
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