At a news conference in Thunder Bay on Saturday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford railed against U.S. politicians who’ve criticized Canadian wildfire suppression efforts, adding that many in the current administration have “a very short memory.”
“I find it a shame the administration in the U.S. and Congress people [are] writing these letters and blaming us,” Ford said. “We had the water bombers and everyone going over to California. It was last year…. That’s what neighbours do.”
Across northern Ontario, there are 191 active wildfires as of Saturday afternoon, with 73 still not under control, according to the provincial Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency.
The province’s largest fire, Thunder Bay 36, has burned through nearly 319,000 hectares as of Saturday afternoon. The premier said 155 fire crews and roughly 80 water bombers are currently working to suppress fires in the region.
So far, more than a dozen communities have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders, including Namaygoosisagagun First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, completely burned to the ground earlier this week as community members were forced to evacuate on their own.
A new evacuation centre has opened in Thunder Bay for people displaced by northern Ontario wildfires. Premier Doug Ford warned that people refusing evacuation orders are hindering firefighting efforts.
The rapid spread of wildfires has also led to criticism within Ontario from opposition members of the legislature and First Nations leaders, who have called for additional funding for wildfire prevention and suppression.
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation “burnt to the ground because of a failure of the province for their monitoring,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. “And further to that, the emergency management arm of the province also ought to be held accountable for this disaster.”
Supporting, not criticizing neighbours
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump joined Republican politicians blaming Canada for the wildfire smoke drifting into American cities.
Four Republican members of the House of Representatives from Michigan sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, warning him to do more to address the fires. Trump, for his part, threatened to increase import tariffs on Canadian goods.
On Saturday, Ford called the comments being made by members of the Trump administration “absolutely unacceptable.”
“You don’t get on and start threatening and criticizing, because guess what, one day it’s going to be your turn and we’re going to be down there without hesitation to support our neighbours, which we should be,” Ford said.
He acknowledged the same rhetoric isn’t shared by all Americans, adding he’s recently spoken with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who offered added personnel to assist with wildfire prevention.
Criticism from within Ontario
So far, roughly 10 First Nations across Ontario have been ordered to evacuate, with most receiving assistance from both the federal and provincial governments.
Speaking at the news conference on Friday, Thunder Bay—Superior North MP Patty Hajdu, who is federal minister of jobs and families, praised this collaboration, saying it allows for safer staging of evacuations.
“Canada is working very efficiently with Ontario and has been since the beginning of the fire season,” Hajdu said. “We’ll be there to support Ontario, we’ll be there to work hand in glove with Ontario to make sure that we protect people and we protect our region.”
Still, despite this collaboration, Debassige highlighted perceived failings on the part of both levels of government to provide resources for Namaygoosisagagun First Nation.
“This community burned to ash,” Debassige said. “When we made our contacts … to the MNR [Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources], we were met with ‘we didn’t know there was a fire there.'”
Responding to reporters’ questions over provincial efforts to suppress the fire, Mike Harris Jr., Ontario’s minister of natural resources, said the blaze started near the First Nation and spread quicker than local crews were able to respond to it.
“We did our best, obviously, to come and survey what was going on, but there was so much smoke, it made it almost impossible for our teams to come in and really assess how close the fire was,” Harris Jr. said. “So the community made the determination that they were going to go ahead and self-evacuate.”
More evacuees coming to Thunder Bay
A chance of showers is expected throughout the weekend, which the provincial government says could help limit the spread of existing fires. As of Saturday, many parts of northwestern Ontario remained under orange air quality warnings, including Thunder Bay, Cloud Bay, White River and Armstrong.
A restricted fire zone has been implemented for much of the region, which prohibits any open-air burning, including campfires.
Thunder Bay is currently serving as a hub for wildfire evacuees, as local residents have donated food, clothing and essential supplies. However, accommodations within the city remain scarce, with hotels quickly filling up.
CBC confirmed on Saturday an additional emergency evacuation shelter had opened in the city, at Fort William Gardens.
