The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that 333 Canadians have been barred from visiting Russia, including some of the country’s most well-known athletes, including Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Hayley Wickenheiser.
The majority of the athletes on the list are former Canadian Olympians who signed a petition encouraging the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to endorse a ban on Russia and Belarus from competing in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris until Russia leaves Ukraine last month.
Since Russia’s alleged “special military operation” invasion of Ukraine last year, many international sports federations have barred athletes from the two nations.
Major athletic events cannot be held in Russia, and Canadian athletes are not permitted to visit; hence, the restrictions largely serve as symbolic punishment.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on its website that entry to the Russian Federation had been permanently closed to 333 Canadian citizens “in light of the anti-Russian sanctions periodically imposed by the Trudeau regime against officials, politicians, experts, journalists, cultural figures, and athletes from Russia, as well as anyone who does not suit the Ottawa “mainstream” and the neo-Nazi authorities supported by it in Kiev.”
The Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, and legislators from the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia are among those prohibited from entering Russia.
