Canada blocks Russian hockey team from World Juniors, refuses entry

Canada will stop Russian athletes and officials from crossing into the country for ice hockey's World Junior Championship, the government said Wednesday, cutting the team out of the Alberta tournament weeks before it starts. Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said the immigration minister will individually assess and prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering — even those who already hold valid visas.

Van Koeverden tied the block directly to the war in Ukraine, saying Canada opposes Russian and Belarusian participation in international sport as long as Russia presses its invasion with Belarus's complicity. Neutral status won't save the Russian team either: he said Canada's offer of neutral participation applies only to individual athletes. In his words, the position is unequivocal.

The move collides head-on with a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling late last month that ordered the IIHF to admit Russian teams to five upcoming championships, starting with the World Juniors. The IIHF, which has kept Russia out of most international competition since the 2022 invasion, said it disagreed with that decision. Belarus is absent too, following a separate IIHF call.

Neither the IIHF nor the Russian Ice Hockey Federation responded immediately to requests for comment, and Hockey Canada said it had nothing to add to its earlier statement backing the government. Prime Minister Mark Carney had already said Canada would not let Russian athletes compete for their country on Canadian soil — a line some took as leaving room for neutrals.

The World Junior Championship runs from December 26 to January 5.