When will wildfire management become Canada’s priority?
Posted July 17, 2026 7:28 am.
No, it’s not a filter. The yellow-orange haze cast upon much of southern Ontario is due to smoke drifting in from northwestern wildfires.
Toronto was ranked as having the worst air quality in the world for most of Wednesday according to IQAir. Although conditions are expected to ease as the city heads into the weekend, was there a way to prevent it from getting this bad in the first place? And if so, why wasn’t Ontario ready?
Host Maria Kestane speaks to Dr. Lori Daniels, professor in the faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship at University of British Columbia. They discuss how Ontario has ended up here and how we can be better prepared for wildfire seasons to come.
You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.