'Stop poisoning our air': Trump confronts Carney at World Cup over Canadian wildfires; threatens tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he confronted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the 2026 FIFA World Cup over toxic wildfire smoke that is affecting North America. While speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump told reporters that he had conveyed to Carney that the United States may "charge" Canada for the damages.

"I told him, 'You've got to STOP these fires from coming in and poisoning our air. Our air has been POISONED," the American leader averred. "Maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs. I mean, you had businesses closing. In particular, Michigan. If you look at Detroit, the Detroit, Michigan area, they had to close EVERYTHING!" he furthered.

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It is pertinent to note that the latest remarks from Trump came just days after he issued a similar threat to impose new tariffs on Canada. The threats and warnings are coming at a time when hundreds of wildfires have left much of the northern US covered by a blanket of smoke.

The threats also followed multiple complaints by US lawmakers over the wildfires and Ontario's premier Doug Ford asking the US to send support to fight the fires, rather than complain. "The United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air," Trump said, threatening to impose new levies over Canada's "willful negligence".

Canada wildfire worries Trump

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, as of Saturday, there were about 955 fires actively burning in the country. The majority of the fires continue to remain out of control. More than 190 of those blazes are burning in Ontario alone, with some of them continuing to remain out of control.

In his post on TruthSocial on Friday, Trump said he would call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to demand an explanation over his country's "willful negligence," accusing the country of "not properly maintaining" their forests and brush. Not only this, but fellow Republicans have also used this issue to renew Trump's call to make Canada the 51st state of the United States, a musing that has offended Canadians and prompted many to stop travelling to their southern neighbour in protest.

Some also suggested a delay in opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a Canada-funded project that will connect Ontario to Michigan. Last week, Carney maintained that it was the responsibility of both countries to fight climate change.

After Trump's initial remarks, Carney's emergency management cabinet minister said the two countries remain in constant contact and share a long history of working together on such disasters, citing a reciprocal fire-fighting agreement from 1982 and another assistance agreement that emerged from the 2025 G7 summit. Overall, the wildfire has ensued a new diplomatic row between the two nations.