Canadian Prime Minister: Russian athletes will not be allowed to represent their country in the World Youth Hockey Championships

China News Service, Beijing, November 4th, Ottawa News: According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Prime Minister Carney said on the 3rd that Russian and Belarusian ice hockey players will not be allowed to represent their countries in the World Youth Hockey Championship to be held in Alberta, Canada.

The Canadian federal government issued a statement on the same day saying that Canada’s position has not changed because Russia’s actions have not changed either.

The statement pointed out that Canada opposes Russian and Belarusian athletes representing their countries in international sports events, and will continue to require events that receive Canadian government funding to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from representing their countries; however, individual athletes competing in a neutral capacity can still continue to participate in international sports events held in Canada.

Russia has been banned from participating in International Ice Hockey Federation events since February 2022. However, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on October 30 this year that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate the Russian team’s qualifications. The earliest one affected by this ruling will be next month's World Youth Hockey Championship, which is scheduled to be held in the Canadian province of Alberta from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027.

However, the ice hockey federations of several European countries, including Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia, said their teams would refuse to play against Russia.

As of now, Russia and Belarus have not responded to Canada’s statement.