The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Wednesday afternoon that the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer have been cancelled. 

Canada was sitting with a record of 2-0 following an 11-2 win over Austria on Tuesday night. 

The IIHF is citing the spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant for cancelling the event for the safety of all participants. 

Russia was prepared to play Slovakia on Wednesday, however, the decision to cancel the tournament was made after a Russian player tested positive, forcing Russia to forfeit the game.  

This was the third forfeited game due to COVID-19 in the past two days. Switzerland vs. The United States had been cancelled on Tuesday and Finland vs. Czechia was cancelled earlier on Wednesday.

The decision to cancel the event was made by the tournament COVID-19 Medical Group, the IIHF Medical Committee and the IIHF Council.