Canada will not allow athletes representing Russia or Belarus to compete in next month’s World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Alberta, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced.
Carney said the ban would remain in place as long as both countries continued supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, which Canada has strongly condemned.
“While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified, horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that’s going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“So, if you’re asking specifically about the world juniors, the Russians will not be there,” he added during a televised press conference following a summit in Antigua.
The tournament is scheduled to run from late December to early January.
Canada’s decision follows criticism of a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week, which allowed Russian athletes to compete in International Ice Hockey Federation events.
Canada has been among the major international supporters of Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
Meanwhile, the issue has also prompted resistance from other European countries.
On Tuesday, the national ice hockey federations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic announced that they would refuse to play against Russia at next year’s men’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany.
