Despite a turbulent week in U.S.-Canada relations, Canadian Premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have committed to help California fight raging wildfires.
The Los Angeles wildfires, which began Tuesday fueled by strong winds from Santa Ana, have killed five people and destroyed thousands of buildings.
Trudeau highlighted the aid Canada has sent to the people of California in a social media post.
“Neighbours helping neighbors,” Trudeau posted with a video of a CL-415 air tanker dropping water on the affected areas. The aircraft can carry more than 6,000 litres of water in each load.
He announced that the Canadian Armed Forces and 250 firefighters are on standby to deploy personnel and equipment to help the ailing US state.
Global Affairs Canada did not respond to True North’s requests to comment on Canada’s response to the fires.
The federal government was scrutinized and accused of mismanagement during the wildfires in Jasper, Alberta, last year – the last time Canada had a wildfire emergency.
Many of Canada’s premiers have been vocal against Trump’s 25% tariffs and threats of economic force to annex Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has advocated for a strengthened US-Canada relationship to counter Trump’s threats to merge the two countries. In a post on X, he announced Ontario would “spare no expense” in helping California.
“The scenes out of California are devastating. Ontario will always stand ready to serve,” he said on X. “I’ve directed officials to send every available water bomber to fight these fires. We’ll provide whatever personnel and equipment is needed and spare no expense to help our closest friends and allies.”
The scenes out of California are devastating.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) January 9, 2025
Ontario will always stand ready to serve. I’ve directed officials to send every available water bomber to fight these fires. We’ll provide whatever personnel and equipment is needed and spare no expense to help our closest friends…
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has similarly announced a commitment to help with California’s needs at this time.
“Our hearts go out to everyone in California who has been evacuated due to the devastating forest fires. Good neighbours are always there for each other in times of need, and we will assist our American friends in any way they need during this crisis,” she said on X.
She announced that Alberta is preparing to deploy “incident command team support,” wildfire-fighting resources such as water bombers and night-vision helicopters to the US state. She said that Alberta will also be working with the federal government and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre to “assess California’s needs.”
Our hearts go out to everyone in California who has been evacuated due to the devastating forest fires.
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) January 9, 2025
Good neighbours are always there for each other in times of need, and we will assist our American friends in any way they need during this crisis.
We are preparing to deploy…
Quebec Premier Francois Legault also announced that his government immediately dispatched two CL-415 air tankers when the fire broke out and is currently working with eight pilots and four technicians.
“We contacted the American and Californian authorities yesterday to indicate our availability to provide more help,” Legault said in a post on X. “We are able to deploy two additional teams of 20 firefighters to provide them with support.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby, the closest province to California, released a statement announcing his support for LA too.
Yesterday, our world-class BC Wildfire Service reached out to Cal Fire, California’s fire response service,” he said in the Thursday post. “BC will offer any assistance we can to the people of LA as they face these challenging fires. We will always stand with our American neighbours when they are in need.”
