As Long As War Against Ukraine Continues, Russian Athletes Will Not Be Permitted To Compete Internationally In Canada

Canada has made their stance clear. Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking to media on Tuesday, stated that Russian athletes would not be permitted to represent their nation on Canadian soil as long as Russia continues their war against Ukraine.

"Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal and 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," Carney told CPAC. "So if you're asking specifically about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there."

The upcoming World Juniors are the first international competition since the Court of Arbitration for Sport formally ordered the IIHF to reinstate Russia and Belarus to international competitions immediately. 

Russia has not competed in international competition since 2022 following their illegal invasion and ongoing attacks against Ukraine. 

While Hockey Canada has yet to make their stance known, the Canadian government made it clear. Canada will be able to restrict Russia's permission by denying visas to enter the country for competitions. 

Prior to Carney's statement, the ice hockey federations representing Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Latvia, Denmark, and Norway all stated that they would not compete against Russia in international competition, even if scheduled to do so. 

The ongoing conflict puts the future of international competition and how the IIHF will manage active boycotts against playing Russian national teams, and governments banning Russian national team participation, into question.

With the newly redesigned international calendar for women's hockey, the first IIHF World Championship tournament in which Russia's women's national team would be eligible to return would be the 2027 World Championships scheduled for November, 2027 in Quebec City, Canada. Should Russia continue their war on Ukraine, the Russian women's national team would not be permitted to travel to Canada to compete.