Manitoba premier calls U.S. politicians 'attention-seekers' throwing a 'timber tantrum' over wildfire smoke

Manitoba premiere Wab Kinew accused a aggroup of Republicans of throwing a "timber tantrum" and playing "political games" after they called come out Canada o'er wildfires sending smoking billowing across the international border into their states.

"These are attention-seekers who can't come up with a good idea on health care or on making life more affordable," Kinew told The Canadian Press. "So they're playing games with something that's very serious."

Kinew said he doesn't "generalize these attention-seekers' misguided words to all Americans." He noted that American firefighters have been helping to fight Canada's wildfires and Canadian firefighters were on the ground and in the air during California's devastating wildfire season.

"I've thanked them and I thanked folks in the Trump administration who sent some of the federal firefighting resources up to Canada and to Manitoba," the premier said. "So we're going to have a continued relationship and an ability to support each other through wildfires going forward."

In a Wednesday news release, Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan joined other Republican state lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota in filing a formal complaint against Canada to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and the International Joint Commission, a binational organization that resolves disputes on shared water and air quality.

The Republican lawmakers called for an investigation of Canada's wildfire management practices and for potential remedies under international law.

"If Canada can't get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences," Callahan said in the news release. "We won't sit back while our air becomes a health hazard."

Callahan joins a chorus of Republican politicians at other levels of government who have been voicing concerns about Canada's wildfires.

Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter to Canadian Sen. Michael MacDonald on Monday calling for stronger forest management policies and more accountability from Canadian officials. Both are members of the Canada—United States Inter-Parliamentary Group.

Michigan Rep. John James sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week saying his constituents are choking on toxic wildfire smoke.

Citing a letter other Republican members of Congress sent to Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman in July, James said that "since then, rather than progress, we have seen escalation."

James said Kinew's declaration of a second state of emergency in Manitoba "confirmed what many Americans have feared: that Canada is not doing nearly enough to stop these fires before they start."

WATCH | U.S. Lawmakers ask Canada to do more about wildfire smoke:

U.S. Lawmakers ask Canada to do more about wildfire smoke

The American lawmaker also criticized Kinew's comments in response to the initial letter. Kinew in July said it turns people off politics "when you have got a group of congresspeople trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province."

A husband and wife were killed by a fast-moving wildfire northeast of Winnipeg in May and thousands have been evacuated from their communities.

James said Kinew's comments dismissed the health impacts the wildfire smoke has on neighbouring states. The Republican said the smoke amounts to a public health emergency "and it is actively damaging the U.S.-Canada relationship."

The increasing pressure from Republicans comes as the bilateral relationship between the two countries remains tense.

On Aug. 1, U.S. President Donald Trump boosted tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent after a new security and economic agreement failed to materialize ahead of the president's deadline. The duties do not apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

Canada is also being hit with Trump's steel, aluminum, copper and automobile tariffs.

Natural Resources Canada said in July that wildfires are a global problem caused by the effects of climate change, including prolonged drought.

Trump has called climate change a "hoax" and his administration dismissed all of the scientists working on a flagship climate report.

Many Republicans point to the 2023 Canadian wildfire season, which was the worst on record. Fires blazing across the country that year sent thick smoke into the United States and even across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe.

Canadian officials have warned that this year's wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, a non-profit owned and operated by federal, provincial and territorial wildland fire management agencies, said on its website that 744 active wildfires were burning across Canada on Wednesday.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said Tuesday that Canada's recent wildfires offer a "stark reminder" of the countries' shared challenges.

In a statement shared by the U.S. Embassy, Hoekstra said the United States and Canada have "a long history" of supporting one another in times of crisis.

"Canadians stood with us during the tragic California wildfires earlier this year, and we are committed to standing with Canada now," he said.

Wildfires burning across multiple American states, including California, have been sending smoke into nearby communities.

The Canadian Press

Kelly Geraldine Malone is a reporter for The Canadian Press.

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