Ontario Premier Doug Ford has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's comments blaming Canada for wildfire smoke affecting parts of the United States. He called Trump's remarks "absolutely unacceptable" as crews battle hundreds of forest fires across the province.
Ford said Ontario was doing everything possible to contain the blazes and protect communities, adding that Canada would support the United States if the situation were reversed.
Trump said on Friday that poor Canadian forest management was responsible for the smoke blanketing large areas of the U.S. and threatened to add the costs of dealing with the pollution to existing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, Ford said around 655,000 hectares of forest were burning across Ontario and pledged there would be "no limit" on spending to protect residents.
He argued that if Washington wanted Canada to clear more forest, it should remove tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, saying greater access to the U.S. market would help address forestry management challenges.
Canada's federal government said military aircraft were being deployed to evacuate residents from the remote community of Fort Hope in northwestern Ontario, where some of the most intense fires are burning.
The federal Natural Resources Department said 69 new wildfires were reported overnight, bringing the national total to 955 active fires.
Smoke from the fires has spread into the United States, prompting air quality alerts across several states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio and Washington, D.C. Parts of western Pennsylvania recorded "very unhealthy" air quality on Saturday.
Canadian officials said wildfire activity in Ontario had eased over the past 24 hours, with more favourable weather expected in the coming days.
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Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
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