Wildfires in Manitoba, a Western province experiencing its most intense fire season in 30 years, are sending smoke southeast and creating alarmingly poor air quality across Eastern Canada and the Upper Midwest of the United States.
On Monday, July 14, 2025, smoke settled over Toronto, prompting Environment Canada to issue an air quality alert. Following a brief heatwave, Toronto’s air quality suffered, ranking it among the worst globally according to IQAir, a prominent air monitoring service. Residents are advised to limit outdoor activities due to the hazardous conditions extending across much of Ontario and into Saskatchewan’s major city, Saskatoon.
The impact is not limited to Canada; the Great Lakes region in the U.S. has also seen its air quality deteriorate, especially in areas such as northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, western New York, and northern Pennsylvania. Meteorologist Ian Hubbard noted that while smoke typically isn't detrimental to health when suspended high in the atmosphere, it poses severe risks when it settles closer to the earth.
Despite predictions of air quality improvement in Toronto as conditions change, the region is expected to endure above-average temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the week. Although this year's wildfire season has not reached the extremes seen in 2023, Manitoba's plight is severe. Premier Wab Kinew recently declared a second state of emergency to facilitate resource allocation and evacuations. May's fires led to two fatalities and the evacuation of over 30,000 residents, many rescued from remote zones under perilous circumstances.
This environmental crisis has ignited a wave of political unrest, with recent correspondence from several Republican lawmakers accusing the Canadian government of mismanaging forest resources, a claim echoed in social media blowback from Representative Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin. He explicitly demanded clarity from Canada regarding its wildfire management strategies. Natural occurrences such as lightning strikes primarily cause many Canadian wildfires, especially those erupting in isolated, unmanaged areas.
The dynamic between Canada and the U.S. is under increasing strain, fueled not only by environmental concerns but also by ongoing trade disagreements sparked by previous tariffs.
Vjosa Isai is a reporter with The Times in Toronto, covering significant news across Canada.
