Russia and Belarus players with visas still barred from next month’s world junior hockey championship in Alberta

The Story

The federal government says Russian hockey players will not be permitted to compete at next month’s world junior championship in Alberta, even if they already hold valid Canadian visas.

In a statement provided Wednesday, Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will take measures to individually assess and prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete.

The Canadian Hockey League said Russians with valid visas are playing in the CHL, the umbrella organization for Canada’s three major junior leagues. The CHL had banned Russians and Belarusians from its import draft from 2022 to 2024 before allowing them back in.

The government’s position comes as the IIHF faces pressure over Russia’s reinstatement in international hockey following last month’s Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling. Norway’s hockey federation said Sunday that the IIHF had told it Russia would be added to the tournament at Norway’s expense.

The IIHF has not formally announced changes to the tournament field, and its website continues to list Norway among the 10 participating teams.

Multiple hockey federations, including Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Norway, have said their teams will refuse to compete against Russian players.

Russia and Belarus have been banned from international hockey competition since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which involved Belarusian assistance.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that Russian and Belarusian athletes could not compete in Canada while representing their countries as long as the war continues. Van Koeverden clarified Monday that the government’s “neutral” designation applies to individual athletes, not teams.

The world junior championship begins Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer.