Canada to block Russian team from World Junior Hockey Championship, Carney says
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Canada will prevent Russia from competing in the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Nov. 3, despite a court ruling ordering Russia's reinstatement to international hockey.
"So if you're asking specifically about the world juniors, the Russians will not be there," Carney said during a press conference in Antigua, according to Reuters.
The announcement follows an Oct. 30 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that overturned Russia's exclusion from international hockey.
The International Ice Hockey Federation said it was disappointed by the ruling but would work to implement it.
The Canadian government said it would use its authority under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete under their national symbols.
The CAS ruling does not supercede Canada's immigration laws, allowing the government to take the move of blocking Russian participation despite the decision. Athletes competing as neutrals may still be admitted on an individual basis.
The measure will remain in place as Russia, with the support of Belarus, continues its war against Ukraine, according to a government statement.
The statement, issued from Global Affairs Canada, declares "Canada’s position has not changed because Russia’s actions have not changed: as long as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine with Belarus’s complicity, neither Russia nor Belarus should be formally represented in international sport."
The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral designation has previously been a subject of debate as some were proven to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
A 2024 investigation by human rights organization Global Rights Compliance found that several athletes cleared to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics had violated eligibility rules by publicly supporting the invasion, or by having links to Russian and Belarusian military organizations, as previously reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had urged governments to deny Russian athletes entry following the decision.
Several European hockey federations have also announced that they would refuse to compete against Russia.
The World Junior Hockey Championship is scheduled to take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, from Dec. 26, 2026, to Jan. 5, 2027.
