Canada denies visas to Russian hockey players for the World Junior Championship

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Russian hockey players will not receive visas to participate in the World Junior Championship at the turn of 2026–2027. According to him, Canada is making the decision on its own, while European federations that previously refused to play against Russia had approached Ottawa asking it to support their position.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 4 November 2026 at 04:342 min read

The key facts

Mark Carney said Canada will deny visas to Russian hockey players for the 2026/2027 World Junior Championship.
Carney said hockey federations of several European countries had asked their Canadian counterparts to support their position.
Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Latvia previously announced a boycott of games against Russia at the 2027 World Championship in Germany, and the Czech Republic joined them.

Visa denial for the World Junior Championship

Canada will not grant visas to Russian hockey players for the World Junior Championship, which will take place in late 2026 — early 2027. This was announced by the country's Prime Minister Mark Carney on the CTV News channel. “This is a decision we make ourselves, and we will refuse,” said the head of government.

Coordination with European federations

According to Carney, hockey federations of several European countries have approached their Canadian counterparts asking them to support their position — these organizations previously refused to hold matches against the Russian national team. As Life.ru, reports, the federations of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Latvia stated that they will not take the ice against the Russians at the 2027 World Championship in Germany if the International Ice Hockey Federation admits the Russian team to the tournament; the Czech Republic later joined them. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, according to the outlet, threatened these countries with “a rout in the courts”.

What this changes

Carney's statement concerns a specific tournament — the World Junior Championship, which Canada itself is hosting — and means that the question of admitting the Russian team is decided not only at the level of the International Ice Hockey Federation but also at the level of the host country through the visa issue. At the same time, Canada's position and the boycott by European federations concern different tournaments: the visa denial relates to the 2026/2027 World Junior Championship, while the federations' statements relate to the 2027 men's World Championship in Germany. The publications do not cite any official reaction from the International Ice Hockey Federation or the Russian side to Carney's statement.