Ferocious wildfires in western Canada have forced thousands of people to flee their homes in Manitoba.

Some 17,000 Canadians were evacuated before the blaze spread to neighbouring Saskatchewan.

Scott Moe, the premier of Saskatchewan, has declared a state of emergency, with 14 wildfires raging in the province.

"The conditions that our northern residents, communities and wild land firefighters are facing today are as severe or quite likely unlike anything we have faced in quite some time, if not ever," said Mr Moe on Thursday evening.

Some 166 fires are burning across Canada, including 84 deemed "out of control", many in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia.

The Canadian armed forces have been deployed to Manitoba to help evacuate residents, according to Wab Kinew, the province's premier, who said: "This is a moment of fear and uncertainty."

There is a risk that smoke from the fires could spill across the southern border and into the US, affecting air quality in Minneapolis, Detroit, Michigan, Wisconsin and Chicago.

Elsaida Alerta, who lives in Flin Flon, Manitoba, said she could "barely breathe" as she raced to leave her home.

"The town is absolutely smoked out here," she said. "We're just kind of in a panic here."

Canada suffered its worst wildfire season in 2023, with more than 42 million acres of land burning.

Scientists have pointed to climate change as the reason for Canada's worsening problem, with 40 per cent of the country's land mass considered Arctic, where temperatures are warming three times faster than the global average.