Canadian wildfire smoke that briefly choked Toronto and drove air quality to the worst in the world will return every summer as rising global temperatures dry out the country’s vast boreal forests, according to climate scientists. Even with dramatic cuts to global carbon emissions, warming temperatures mean bigger, stronger, and more frequent blazes that cities must learn to anticipate like regular weather events.
Why American Firefighting Tactics Won’t Work in Canada
Politicians in Canada and the U.S. have called for quick fixes to the crisis, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened tariffs in retaliation for the smoke blowing across the border. Proposed American-style solutions such as active forest management, thinning trees, removing low-hanging limbs, and clearing dead wood on the forest floor would have little immediate effect, according to experts. Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, an independent non-profit research organization, explains that the Canadian boreal forest is a fundamentally different ecosystem than smaller U.S. forests.
“The idea that we can thin our way through the boreal forest boggles the mind,” Hausfather said, noting that the enormous, largely roadless expanse is bigger than the entire European Union. While Western U.S. forests evolved for frequent low-level fires every five to 30 years that clear brush without killing mature trees, the boreal ecosystem is designed to burn intensely every 100 to 200 years. According to Hausfather, clearing ground wood would not prevent canopy fires that sweep the boreal. Targeted mechanical thinning and controlled burns could help First Nations communities in Ontario’s north, but former forest firefighter and University of Alberta environmental science professor Jen Beverly cautions that treating a five-kilometre radius around vulnerable communities would require thinning 25 million hectares—an area 37 times larger than the annual commercial logging harvest nationwide.
Did you know? The biggest wildfire in Ontario’s history reached 315,000 hectares north of Thunder Bay—making it more than 50 percent bigger than the largest forest fire on record—before August arrived.
Canada’s National Firefighting Mission Control and Resource Sharing
As Canadian premiers gathered in Charlottetown to debate federal involvement, calls for an increased Ottawa-led firefighting role grew louder, led by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. However, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) has coordinated resource sharing between provinces and territories for more than 40 years from a small office in Winnipeg. Because provinces manage their own firefighting forces, the CIFFC traditionally shifts idle fire rangers and equipment eastward or westward depending on where the fire season peaks.
To supplement international agreements bringing in personnel from the U.S., Mexico, and Australia, the federal government leased 10 firefighting aircraft this spring—four water bombers and six helicopters—placed on standby to backstop provinces that maxed out their resources. Those aircraft have already been deployed 22 times, according to a report in the Hill Times. CIFFC spokesperson Awa Cissé stated that the organization is doing everything possible to ensure provinces have what they need. David Martell, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Forestry and Conservation, argues that creating a federal fleet creates more problems than it solves. “The provinces know how to share stuff. They do it all the time,” Martell said, advising that Ottawa should simply give funding directly to the provinces to purchase their own equipment.
Preparing Cities for Recurring Smoke Events
Wildfires rarely occupy public attention until smoke rolls over major urban centers, prompting knee-jerk budget increases that lack a long-term strategy, according to Edward Struzik, a fellow with the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University and author of Dark Days at Noon: the Future of Fire. Struzik emphasizes that cities like Toronto must prepare for smoke the way they prepare for heat waves and extreme cold snaps by establishing evacuation plans for vulnerable communities and distributing masks and public health alerts.
“Every year we act like it’s something new and unexpected,” Struzik said. “We can’t be surprised by these massive fires anymore.” With thousands of residents evacuated from 13 remote communities and more forest burned in Ontario this year than ever before recorded, experts stress that air purifiers, masks, and robust municipal response plans will become permanent fixtures of Canadian summers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is Canadian wildfire smoke becoming more frequent?
Climate scientists state that rising global temperatures dry out forests, making wildfires bigger, stronger, and more frequent. So long as greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere, summers will feature recurring smoke events. - Can U.S. forest management techniques stop Canadian fires?
No. According to Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, the vast Canadian boreal forest is an ecosystem designed to burn intensely every 100 to 200 years, and mechanical thinning is logistically impossible across such an immense, roadless region. - What is the role of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC)?
The CIFFC coordinates the sharing of firefighting personnel, water bombers, and equipment between provinces and territories, alongside managing international firefighting resources and leased federal aircraft.
What are your thoughts on how Canadian cities should prepare for recurring wildfire smoke? Share your perspective in the comments below, explore our latest environmental coverage, and subscribe to our newsletter for ongoing updates.