Wildfires spark friendly disagreement as Trump administration pushes Canada to ‘lean into forest management’

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“Our communities shouldn’t suffer because of poor decisions made across the border,” Tom Tiffany, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin, said in a post on X in July.

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Using management techniques like controlled burns, clearing away combustible debris from forest floors and creating fire breaks is a widely accepted means to lessen fire danger.

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But Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew rejected the U.S. critiques at the time, noting that most of the fires in his province were started by lightning strikes in remote locations where preventive measures were all but impossible.

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Asked about Zeldin’s comments Friday, Canadian Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin wouldn’t say how her department responded to the American outreach.

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“When we’re talking about wildfires in Canada, my primary obligation and concern is about Canadians who are being impacted,” said Dabrusin. “Do I share an absolute commitment to slow down wildfires and protect communities? Absolutely.”

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A leading academic expert was less diplomatic. The growing threat from wildfires is a complex one and research has proven that climate change – creating hotter, drier conditions – is the principle cause, said Lori Daniels, a forestry professor at the University of British Columbia.

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“If the United States wants to contribute to a global solution, they need to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions,” said Daniels. “Given that they are in the top-three of greenhouse-gas emitters, maybe the onus could go back to them for some of that responsibility.”

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP, File

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Another factor feeding the fire surge is, ironically, a decades-long history of efficient firefighting, she said. That has led to denser forests and growth of small trees that provide a sort of kindling to the flames that start by crawling along the forest floor. Meanwhile, the uniformity of vast oceans of evergreen trees makes them more susceptible to fire, disease and insects, said Daniels.

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The kind of forest management that is “desperately needed” would require a timber industry shift toward harvesting smaller trees and for more broad-leaf species to be integrated into forests. But that would undermine a business model centred around selling the U.S. two-by-fours and similar products cut from big, old trees. Governments would probably have to offer subsidies and other incentives, Daniels said.

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The further catch? Government subsidy generally prompts the U.S. to raise softwood-lumber tariffs, which have already gone up under President Donald Trump.

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“Those rules to try to control our economy limit our options and, unfortunately, (Americans) had to pay the price this summer by breathing some smoke. They can’t have their cake and eat it too.”

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Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the Empire State Building in New York City on June 30, 2023. Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/File

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