A wildfire in the Flin Flon, Man., area on May 27. Wildfires caused $8.5-billion in insured losses in 2024.Government handout via The Canadian Press
Dr. Ajay Virmani CM is the chairman and founder of Cargojet.
Canada is burning. Again.
With 3.6 million square kilometres of forest, we hold one of the world’s largest carbon sinks and ecosystems. But year after year, we watch wildfires rage across this vast landscape – bigger, faster and more destructive – and we do little more than react.
Despite the scale of the threat, Canada has no federal wildfire agency, no fleet of large-scale water bombers and no co-ordinated national strategy. Instead, the federal government defers to the provinces – many of which are already overstretched.
The result is predictable: chaos, smoke and a rising toll on our health, economy and reputation.
National strategy to fight wildfires needed, fire chiefs say
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Wildfires don’t respect borders – and neither does the smoke. Last year, cities such as New York, Boston and Chicago were blanketed in toxic haze from fires burning in Quebec and Ontario. Air-quality alerts were issued across the Midwest and Northeast U.S. Canada became an unintended exporter of pollution, with no serious plan to prevent it or minimize its future impact.
How long will our neighbours tolerate this?
Let’s be clear: trade-related tariffs from the United States are already a reality. If Canada continues to ignore its wildfire problem and pollutes American cities in the process, we could face additional penalties – specifically environmental or pollution-linked tariffs. And this time, they would be fully justified. We can argue with the U.S. over issues such as softwood lumber or fentanyl, but on this, we would have no moral ground to stand on.
But this isn’t just about trade. The United States is our lifeline – our largest customer, key defence ally and partner in shared prosperity. We rely on them for economic stability and national security. That comes with an obligation: not to choke their cities with our smoke or ignore the consequences. If we continue down this path, we risk damaging a relationship that is vital to our future.
Unlike the United States – which has a federally co-ordinated wildfire system through agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, FEMA and the National Interagency Fire Center – Canada has no national wildfire agency, no federal command centre and no shared aerial fleet. The U.S. operates with more than 200 federally contracted water bombers, including very large airtankers such as the DC-10 that can carry up to 12,000 gallons. Canada, by contrast, has about 60 water bombers scattered across provinces, most maxing out at around 1,600 gallons. For a country with the second-largest land mass on Earth, our capabilities are dangerously out of scale.
Smoke from wildfires burning in three provinces is spreading into the U.S. Upper Midwest, stirring memories of the severe pollution that drifted south from Canada two years ago during its worst fire season on record.
Reuters
The cost of inaction is not theoretical – it’s already happening. In 2023, wildfires scorched more than 15 million hectares and cost Canada nearly $10-billion, including $3.1-billion in insured damages. In 2024, wildfires caused another $8.5-billion in insured losses, including $880-million from a single event in Jasper, Alta.
With wildfires costing Canada billions of dollars last year and potential U.S. trade tariffs threatening tens of billions in GDP loss, the economic case for national action is overwhelming.
At home, the smoke doesn’t just drift south – it fills our lungs, too. Asthma attacks, respiratory illness, ER visits and long-term complications rise sharply during fire season. All of this unfolds while our health care system is already under immense pressure.
We’re not just lighting fires – we’re fuelling a public health emergency.
Canada is a G7 nation. We have the largest forests, the biggest exposure and – at least on paper – the responsibility to lead. But how can we lead on climate when we can’t even protect our own air?
This isn’t a partisan issue – it’s a national one. With a new federal government taking shape, there is a real opportunity to reset priorities. Wildfire preparedness shouldn’t be a seasonal afterthought. It must be treated as a national security, economic, environmental and public health priority.
We need a dedicated federal wildfire agency. We need a modern, well-equipped aerial firefighting fleet. And we need a co-ordinated national strategy that brings provinces together with clear federal leadership.
Later this year, as Canada hosts the G7 summit, let’s hope the world’s leaders won’t be meeting under a cloud of smoke rising from our own backyard. That would be more than ironic – it would be shameful.
We don’t need another year of headlines, evacuations and hazardous air warnings. We need action before someone else forces it upon us.