The federal government says Russian hockey players will not be allowed to compete in next month’s world junior championship in Alberta, even if they already have valid Canadian visas. A statement provided Wednesday by Secretary of State for Sports Adam van Koeverden says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will take steps to individually assess and prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete. There are Russians with valid visas who play in the Canadian Hockey League, the umbrella organization for the country’s three major junior hockey leagues. CHL, Russia led this year’s draft with 32 of the 114 players selected. Wednesday’s statement appears to close the door on Russia’s return to the world juniors following last month’s ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) must reinstate the country to international hockey. The Norwegian hockey federation said Sunday that the IIHF had informed it that Russia would be added to the tournament at Norway’s expense. Get daily national news Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories. Norway qualified for the tournament and has said it still hopes to compete. The IIHF has not formally announced any changes to the tournament field. Their website continues to list Norway among the 10 participating teams. Hockey federations of several nations, including Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Norway, have said their teams will refuse to compete against Russian players. More on sports More videos Russia and Belarus have been banned from international hockey competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine with help from Belarus in 2022. Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be able to compete in Canada while representing their countries while the war continues. 0:55 Carney says Russia will not be able to participate in World Juniors The government’s previous position allowed individual athletes to compete as neutrals, leaving open the question of whether a Russian team could participate under a neutral designation. Van Koeverden clarified Monday that the neutral designation applied to individual athletes, not teams. The government said its position would not change as long as Russia continues its war in Ukraine with the complicity of Belarus. The world junior championship begins December 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer. © 2026 The Canadian Press