Canada Bars Russian Players from World Junior Hockey Championship Over Ukraine War

The Canadian government has officially informed Hockey Canada that visas will not be issued to Russian players seeking to participate in the World Junior Hockey Championship, which will be held in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Sports Minister Adam van Koeverden also clarified that Russian players who already hold valid Canadian visas to play for teams in Canada will also be deemed ineligible, even if they were scheduled to represent another country.

Van Koeverden said the Immigration Minister is taking steps to prevent athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus from entering Canada, even if they already have valid visas.

The Secretary of State for Sport said the measure is not directed against ordinary citizens of the two countries. Instead, its aim is to prevent the Russian and Belarusian governments from using international sporting events hosted in Canada to promote their countries' official representation through sports.