- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the World Juniors in Alberta
- Hockey Canada will meet with its board of directors this week to discuss next steps
- Read below for what Carney said, the boycott pressure and where the IIHF stands
Canada just shut the door on Russia at the World Juniors.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to compete in Canada while the war in Ukraine continues. That includes the World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, which starts Dec. 26.
Carney was speaking at the Commonwealth Summit in Antigua when he was asked whether Russian players would be denied visas. He didn’t leave any wiggle room.
“If you’re asking specifically about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there,” Carney said.
He also addressed the European federations that have said they won’t play Russia. Carney said Canada respects what the Finns, Czechs, Swedes and others decided, “but this is a decision we take on our own.”
The announcement comes four days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the IIHF must reinstate Russia, starting with the World Juniors. We covered how Russia was cleared to return and how Hockey Canada and the government pushed back. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Friday that “all options are on the table.” Carney just picked one.
Hockey Canada reacted Tuesday evening. The federation was asked to respond after Carney’s comments and thanked the government for its stance.
“We will be meeting with our Board of Directors this week to discuss next steps given the government’s clear position,” Hockey Canada said in a statement.
Carney’s decision lands as the boycott keeps growing. Finland started the push on Monday, and Sweden, Norway, Czechia, Latvia and Denmark have all said their teams won’t take the ice against Russia. Norway and Czechia both put out statements Tuesday:
Those six nations have now committed to a boycott of Russia at the 2027 World Championship. Austria told The Associated Press it is weighing whether to join, and Germany is unsure about hosting the men’s tournament.
The IIHF hasn’t reacted to the boycotts or to Carney. The World Juniors are about seven weeks away, and the federation still has to decide how it will handle a ruling it said it would implement “responsibly.”
