Canada bars Russian and Belarusian players from World Juniors despite visas

Canada's Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will assess each Russian and Belarusian athlete and official individually and will prevent them from entering the country to compete in next month’s World Junior Championship in Alberta. The measure applies despite some Russian players already holding valid Canadian visas through the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which this year selected 32 Russian players in its import draft.

"Russian and Belarusian athletes could not compete in Canada while representing their countries as long as the war continues," Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week.

The announcement follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russia in international competition. However, several European federations, including Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Norway, have said their teams will not face Russian players. Norway, which qualified for the tournament, indicated it still intends to compete, though the IIHF has not yet updated its official team list.

Canada's policy, which previously allowed individual athletes to compete as neutrals, now clarifies that the neutral status applies only to individuals, not to national teams, and will remain unchanged while Russia continues its war in Ukraine with Belarusian involvement. The championship is scheduled to begin on Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer.