By The Canadian Press

Wisconsin and Minnesota Republicans call on Canada to curb wildfire smoke

Jul 9, 2025 | 11:05 AM

WASHINGTON — Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Canada’s ambassador calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states.

In a Tuesday letter to Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires.

“As we are entering the height of the fire season, we would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfires and the smoke that makes its way south,” the letter said.

The lawmakers said successive years of wildfires in Canada have undermined air quality in their states and robbed Americans of their ability to enjoy the summer.

They pointed to forest management and arson as possible factors behind the fires. They did not mention climate change.

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The lawmakers urged Hillman to relay their concerns to Ottawa, in particular to Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Forest Service.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington confirmed it had received the letter and said it will be shared with the relevant agencies. Spokesperson Tarryn Elliott said in an email that “Canada takes the prevention, response and mitigation of wildfires very seriously.”

Natural Resources Canada said wildfire is a global problem caused by the effects of climate change, including prolonged drought.

“This is why the government of Canada, during its G7 presidency this year, led the development of the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter — the first leader-level wildfire initiative aimed at preventing, responding to and recovering from wildland fire,” Marie Martin, a department spokesperson, said in a statement.

The office of Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski has not yet responded to a request for comment.

“With all the technology that we have at our disposal, both in preventing and fighting wildfires, this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken,” the Republican lawmakers said in their letter.

The letter pointed to the 2023 Canadian wildfire season, which was the worst on record. Fires blazing across the country that year sent thick smoke into the United States and even across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe.

Canadian officials warned last month that this year’s wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record. While fires have caused widespread destruction and triggered evacuations in multiple provinces this season, the threat appears to have eased somewhat recently.

Veronica Bistodeau, an official with the city of Big Falls in northern Minnesota, said the air quality at the local Big Falls Campground and Horse Camp hasn’t been too bad this summer.

“This year, it’s probably been better than the last couple of years,” Bistodeau said Wednesday.

The campground near the waterfalls on the Bigfork River in Big Falls has been hit by Canadian wildfire smoke in previous years. Bistodeau said she has seen people wear masks due to the smoke but is not aware of anyone cancelling a camping reservation as a result.

Ottawa has warned that Canada’s climate continues to warm faster than the global average and extreme weather conditions will become more frequent and severe, contributing to more widespread drought and wildfires.

The letter comes at a tense time in the Canada-U.S. relationship, thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to realign global trade through tariffs and repeated calls for Canada to become a U.S. state.

Canada and the U.S. are looking to negotiate a new economic and security agreement by July 21.

Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and his administration dismissed all of the scientists working on a flagship climate report.

The Trump administration has been removing mentions of climate change from government websites and reports and is freezing funding on climate research.

Trump signed an executive order in June on wildfire prevention and response that also did not mention climate change.

Trump blamed California for the state’s recent wave of devastating wildfires, saying it mismanaged wildfire mitigation and its response to the blazes.

The president has claimed communities can prevent fires by clearing combustible materials like fallen branches and undergrowth.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press