By Gazette Staff
July 17th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Michelle Murti is cautioning people to keep themselves apprised of the latest air quality readings this weekend as wildfire smoke is expected to return and could do so suddenly.
“This is a very dynamic situation,” she said at a Friday afternoon press conference in city hall. “Air quality shifts rapidly. From hour to hour, we can see significant changes, so we’re monitoring very closely.”
In the event the smoke returns this weekend, Murti offered the same advice she said she would give people during periods of extreme heat:
Those masks we didn’t use during the pandemic are really useful during the smoke hazards that could be with us for most of the summer.
Stay hydrated, delay exercising outdoors and check in on vulnerable neighbours. Additionally, prevent polluted air from coming inside by sealing windows and doors, setting ventilation systems to recirculate and using an indoor air filter. She said prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke has been associated with a greater risk of cancer and neurodevelopmental damages in children.
Few in Toronto and GTA East and West appreciate what is happening in the northern part of the province.
A Link to the map is HERE
To add to the situation, everyone is dealing with President Donald Trump, who said he would level new tariffs because of all the smoke that is floating into the United States.
Some politicians in the U.S. on Thursday threatened to sanction, or possibly annex Canada because of smoke from wildfires in Ontario spreading south of the border.
As dozens of wildfires continue to burn in northern Ontario, forcing people from their homes and destroying communities, the smoke has caused air quality warnings in Ontario, but also in multiple states including Michigan, Ohio, New York, Illinois and Indiana.
“Hey Canada, ‘just let it burn’ is not a solution. Unless you want to become the 51st state, learn to manage your forests,” Aric Nesbitt, a Republican state senator in Michigan, said in an online post.
Republican senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio said in a post that he will introduce a bill next week to “sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity.”
At a press conference on Friday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said American politicians should send help instead of complaining. “If there’s some politicians out there chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends.”
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In the interests of free trade, Canada could offer to stop wildfire smoke at the border if the US would stop exporting illegal firearms to Canada.