HALIFAX — It was the year unprecedented wildfires disrupted the lives of thousands from coast to coast, shattering records for the total area burned. Canadian wildfires — which consumed an area roughly one-quarter the land mass of Manitoba — were by far the first choice for The Canadian Press news story of the year, as voted by editors in newsrooms across the country. An unusually warm and dry winter in much of Canada set the stage for a wildfire season that led to 200,000 people fleeing their homes. …On June 8, during debate in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canada is burning.” And the impact was not confined within our borders. Quebec’s lightning-sparked wildfires made international news as the smoke travelled south, giving Toronto among the worst air quality in the world and forcing the cancellation of Major League Baseball games as far away as Washington, D.C.