Carney Says Russia Will Not Be at the World Juniors in Alberta: "The Russians Will Not Be There"

Photo: Rowanswiki / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) — File photo: hockey at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Not a photo of the World Juniors announcement.

In Antigua on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked a blunt question: would Russian players be denied visas for the World Juniors in Alberta? He did not dodge it. "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," Carney said, according to The Canadian Press. "So, if you're asking specifically about the world juniors, the Russians will not be there."

It was a remarkable sentence for a tournament still almost two months away. The World Juniors — the tournament that fills Canadian living rooms between Christmas and New Year's — begins December 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer, according to The Canadian Press. Canada is the host. And now the host country's prime minister has said that one team will not be walking through the door.

What Ottawa actually decided

Carney was not speaking off the cuff. Earlier on Tuesday, the federal government said it would use its immigration powers to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete under their national symbols, according to The Canadian Press. Ministers Anita Anand, Lena Metlege Diab and Adam van Koeverden stressed in the statement that the measure was not aimed at ordinary Russians or Belarusians. "This measure is not directed at the Russian and Belarusian people," it said. "Rather, it is intended to prevent the governments of Russia and Belarus from using international sporting events hosted in Canada as platforms for state representation, political legitimacy and propaganda."

Why a court ruling started all of this

To understand why Carney had to say anything at all, go back to last Friday. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Russia must be reinstated to international hockey competition, starting with the World Juniors, according to The Canadian Press. Russian teams have been banned since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's sports minister, Mikhail Degtyarev, said on October 30 that the ruling was final and Russia would work with the IIHF to secure its return.

That ruling put everyone in an impossible spot. The IIHF is bound to implement a decision it plainly did not welcome. Host countries control visas. And several European hockey nations had already made their positions clear: Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Latvia have said their teams will refuse to face Russia, according to The Canadian Press. Reuters reported that Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic also said Tuesday they would refuse to play Russia at next year's men's worlds. Carney framed Canada's move as its own call. "We respect the decisions of the Finns, the Czechs, the Swedes, other nations, but this is a decision we take on our own," he said, according to The Canadian Press.

What Hockey Canada and Alberta are saying

Hockey Canada backed the government within hours. "Hockey Canada thanks the Government of Canada for today's strong position that Canada intends to prevent Russian and Belarusian officials and athletes from participating under their national symbols in international sporting events taking place on Canadian soil," the organization said, according to The Canadian Press. It added that it would meet with its board of directors this week to discuss next steps.

Alberta's reaction has been more complicated. Premier Danielle Smith said on Friday that the province would comply with the court ruling, according to The Canadian Press. But on Tuesday, after Carney spoke, she wrote on X that she fully supports his decision. "The people of Ukraine have suffered immeasurably from Vladimir Putin's illegal war," she wrote. "Alberta is now home to 70,000 Ukrainian evacuees who remain unable to return home because of Russia's invasion of their country. We in Alberta stand with them."

The pushback, and what is still unresolved

Not everyone is cheering. Russia's ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, wrote on X that it was genuinely regrettable to see Carney's cabinet bringing politics onto the ice, according to The Canadian Press. "Sport, particularly junior hockey, should be about athletic excellence, fair competition and bringing young people together," he wrote. Reuters reported that Stepanov told TASS the decision was regrettable. Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, took the opposite view, thanking the federations that had refused to play Russia and urging others to follow suit.

So where does that leave the tournament? Sweden is the defending champion and one of 10 teams currently set to compete, along with Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Norway and Finland, according to The Canadian Press. One wrinkle: Norway's association told The Associated Press that Norway could be dropped to make room for Russia. The IIHF has not announced a final field, and Hockey Canada's board has not yet met. Carney's statement settles Canada's position, not the tournament.

Sources

• The Canadian Press via TSN, November 3, 2026 (updated November 4, 2026) — Boycott against Russian reinstatement leaves questions on impact on world juniors
• Reuters via 94.1 Duke FM, November 3, 2026 (updated November 4, 2026) — Canada will not let Russians compete at ice hockey tournament, says Carney
• The Globe and Mail via Europe Says, November 4, 2026 — Russian teams won't compete in Canadian-hosted events, including world juniors, Carney says