As deadly wildfires raged in the Canadian province of Manitoba this summer, Republican lawmakers in nearby U.S. states penned letters asking that Canada be held accountable for the smoke drifting south.
‘Our skies are being choked by wildfire smoke we didn’t start and can’t control,’ wrote Calvin Callahan, a Republican state representative from Wisconsin, in a letter dated early August.
Callahan, along with lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota, filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging an investigation into Canada’s wildfire management.
Manitoba premier Wab Kinew quickly condemned the move, accusing the lawmakers of throwing a ‘timber tantrum’ and playing ‘political games’.
By August, the wildfires had scorched more than two million acres in Manitoba, forced thousands to evacuate, and killed two people— a married couple who authorities said were trapped by fast-moving flames around their family home.
A study published in the Nature journal in September revealed that smoke from Canada’s wildfires had far-reaching, fatal consequences. It estimates that the 2023 wildfires— the country’s worst on record by area burned— caused over 87,500 acute and premature deaths worldwide, including 4,100 acute smoke-related deaths in the U.S.
Wildfire smoke contains PM2.5, which is known to trigger inflammation in the body and can exacerbate conditions like asthma and heart disease. ‘These are big numbers,’ said Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia who co-authored the study. He added that the findings show wildfire smoke must be treated as a serious health issue.
Yet some lawmakers continue to attribute the issue to Canada alone. ‘Canada’s failure to contain massive wildfires,’ Callahan stated, ‘has harmed health and quality of life for over 20 million Americans in the Midwest.’
Experts suggest that placing the blame solely on Canada does not address the broader problem of climate change that underpins the increased frequency and severity of wildfires in both countries. Mike Flannigan, an expert at Thompson Rivers University, stated, ‘Until we as a global society deal with human-caused climate change, we’re going to keep facing this problem.’
Amid these tensions, experts advocate for collaborative efforts rather than divisive blame. They highlight that wildfires, often ignited by lightning and exacerbated by human activity and rising temperatures, necessitate collective action and innovation to mitigate their impact.
As Canada faces its second-worst wildfire season on record, the conversation needs to shift towards how both Canada and the U.S. can work together to prepare for and combat wildfires moving forward. ‘We should be blaming climate inaction globally rather than just pointing fingers,’ said Jen Beverly, a professor at the University of Alberta.
