With Canadian wildfires again blanketing the American Midwest in thick smoke, Republican lawmakers are demanding accountability from Ottawa. On Monday, six members of Congress led by Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) issued a formal letter to Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman pressing for answers on how Canada plans to control its worsening wildfire crisis.
The appeal comes as Manitoba declared a state of emergency Thursday—the second this year—over out-of-control forest fires. According to Natural Resources Canada, the country has already seen 2,672 fires in 2025, with 354 still active and 105 classified as “uncontrolled.” Some have been burning since 2023, Canada’s worst fire year on record. That year, over 100 million Americans suffered smoke exposure, prompting lockdown-style restrictions across dozens of states.
The Republican delegation—Reps. Tiffany, Brad Finstad (R-MN), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Tom Emmer (R-MN)—pointed to consistent failures in forest management. They cited the lack of active thinning, limited use of prescribed burns, and incidents of arson. The lawmakers stressed that Canada’s mismanagement has had direct health consequences for American citizens, especially in border states like Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“As we are entering the height of the fire season, we would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfire and the smoke that makes its way south,” the lawmakers stated. They warned that “this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken.”
Natural Resources Canada acknowledged to Global News that the two nations frequently exchange firefighting resources. However, Canada still lacks a federal emergency response equivalent to FEMA, despite decades of wildfire threats.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew dismissed the GOP concerns, accusing the Congressmen of exploiting the situation. He called them “ambulance chasers” and claimed they were politicizing a crisis. In response, Rep. Tiffany told Breitbart News: “Premier Kinew may call me an ‘ambulance chaser,’ but I’m working to make sure my constituents with respiratory concerns don’t end up in one because of his wildfire smoke.”
Beyond Manitoba, provinces including Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario have also been overwhelmed. Emergency declarations and record fire counts continue without national Canadian reforms.
The Republican letter underscores the ongoing demand for cross-border cooperation and emphasizes that Americans should not suffer annual health crises due to foreign policy failures. Without structural changes in Canadian forestry policy and wildfire response, the cycle is expected to continue.
