Natural resources minister rejects Trump’s wildfire smoke tariff threat, says Canada will keep helping US

CALGARY — Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he could place tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke drifting south of the border, saying Canada will continue to respond to cross-border emergencies by working together instead of “pointing fingers.”The minister avoided criticizing Trump on Monday after being asked about social media comments the president first made last week saying the US was holding “Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush” and that Canada should pay for smoke directly affecting American communities.."We want to focus on being good neighbours and good allies," Hodgson said."Canada and the United States have come to each other's aid in times of challenge as long as I've been alive."He pointed to the decades-long history of cooperation between the two countries during wildfire seasons and cited how Canadian firefighters have repeatedly travelled south to assist the US in major disasters such as the Los Angeles wildfires in 2025, as well as noting the recent death of Canadian firefighter Nicholas Dale, who perished when his firefighting helicopter crashed into the Silver Jack Reservoir while battling the Gold Mountain fire in Colorado on July 12.“We prefer to focus on helping one another and when the other person has a challenge, to respond with empathy and kindness and extend a helping hand,” Hodgson said.“We think that's what most Americans will do for Canada.”.WATCH: Ford provides updates on expanding wildfires as evacuations continue across northern Ontario.Hodgson also defended the federal government’s record on doing more to reduce the number of wildfires in Canada, saying Ottawa had recently pledged to train 2,000 new firefighters and had already reached that target ahead of schedule.The ten new water bombers the federal government had procured in May to support provincial firefighting efforts were also cited by Hodgson to further punctuate Ottawa’s commitment, as well as the creation of a new national emergency response centre under Emergency ManagementMinister Eleanor Olszewski to better coordinate provincial emergency responses during major disasters.“We're doing what we can,” he said, adding that “extreme weather is a global challenge.”“The world will be better off if we all work together as opposed to pointing fingers at one another.”

Natural resources minister rejects Trump’s wildfire smoke tariff threat, says Canada will keep helping US

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