Dwain Northey (Gen X)

I have to admit, I must have missed the chapter in economics where tariffs magically extinguish wildfires.

Canada is battling massive forest fires. Smoke drifts thousands of miles across the border, degrading air quality throughout the Midwest and down the East Coast. It’s a reminder that Mother Nature doesn’t stop at customs checkpoints. Smoke doesn’t pause at the border to show a passport. Carbon monoxide doesn’t ask whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican. Air pollution doesn’t care whose flag is flying.

And yet, instead of asking, “How can we help our neighbor contain these fires before they get worse?” the response seems to be, “Maybe we should punish Canada.”

Really?

If your neighbor’s house is on fire, do you hand them a garden hose, or do you send them a bigger bill?

Leadership has always been about recognizing that some problems are bigger than politics. Forest fires don’t respect international boundaries. Neither do hurricanes, pandemics, earthquakes, or volcanic ash. The atmosphere is shared by everyone. That’s why countries have historically cooperated when disasters strike. Today it’s Canada. Tomorrow it could be California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, or any other state asking the international community for assistance.

Imagine if California were experiencing another catastrophic fire season and Canada announced, “Since your smoke is drifting into British Columbia, we’re imposing tariffs on American goods.” Americans would rightly ask, “Why aren’t you sending firefighters instead?”

That would be the rational response.

The irony is that helping Canada suppress the fires isn’t charity. It’s enlightened self-interest. Every acre extinguished means less smoke crossing into the United States. Every fire contained means fewer pollutants entering the air Americans breathe. Assisting with aircraft, equipment, logistics, or firefighters isn’t simply helping Canada—it’s helping ourselves.

That’s what leadership looks like.

Real leaders recognize that international cooperation isn’t weakness; it’s practical. They understand that not every problem can be solved by economic punishment or political theater. Sometimes the answer is as simple as asking, “What do you need, and how can we help?”

Tariffs don’t extinguish flames.

They don’t lower air pollution.

They don’t improve visibility.

They don’t help people with asthma breathe easier.

They don’t protect crops or wildlife.

They certainly don’t change the direction of the wind.

The smoke will continue drifting wherever atmospheric currents take it, blissfully unaware that someone decided to raise import taxes.

Nature has a remarkable way of exposing the limits of political slogans. You can tariff lumber. You can tariff steel. You can tariff maple syrup.

But you can’t tariff smoke.

You fight smoke by fighting the fire.

Everything else is just political performance while the sky fills with haze.