The “black list,” announced Tuesday, applied to hundreds of Canadian lawmakers and followed what the Russian Foreign Ministry called “the outrageous hostility of the current Canadian regime.”
In total, 313 Canadian officials were banned from Russia, including nearly every member of Parliament and party leaders as the Russian government responded to sweeping sanctions being placed against the country in response to the war with Ukraine.
“Every Russophobic attack, be it attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, airspace closures, or Ottawa’s actual severing of bilateral economic ties to the detriment of Canadian interests, will inevitably receive a decisive and not necessarily symmetrical rebuff,” the Russian ministry said in a translated statement.
Russia also announced sanctions—including a ban on entering—against 13 United States officials including President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. The foreign ministry wrote the measures were “on the basis of reciprocity.”
A spokesperson for Trudeau provided a statement to Newsweek Tuesday afternoon, saying, “the only response from Russia that we’re interested in is an immediate end to this illegal, unnecessary war in Ukraine.”
“Until then, Canada and our allies will continue imposing crippling sanctions on Putin and his enablers in Russia and Belarus. The people of Ukraine, and President Zelensky, continue to have our unwavering support,” the statement said.
The Canadian government, like many other Western countries, sided with Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
Trudeau has announced a number of economic sanctions against Russian banks and entities—while also issuing personal sanctions against members of the Russian parliament and oligarchs.
Canada also banned imports of Russian oil and sent several shipments of weapons and other military supplies including body armor, helmets, anti-tank weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine to aid in the fight against Russia, the CBC reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the Canadian parliament on Tuesday, where he pushed for a full trade embargo on Russia, arguing that the sanctions western countries have already enacted have not successfully stopped the invasion, the CBC reported.
“You imposed severe sanctions. At the same time, we see that unfortunately, this did not bring the end to the war,” Zelensky said. “Basically what I am trying to say is that you will need to do more to stop Russia, to protect Ukraine, and by doing that to protect Europe from Russian threats. They are destroying everything: memorial complexes, schools, hospitals, housing complexes.”
He also continued his efforts to encourage western governments to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine—a move leaders have been hesitant to do out of concerns it would significantly escalate the conflict.
“We want to live and we want to be victorious. We want to prevail for the sake of life,” Zelenksy said during his video address. “Can you imagine when you call your friends and nations and you ask to please close the sky, close the air space, please stop the bombing? How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?”
Trudeau pledged his “unwavering and steadfast support” while addressing Zelensky, praising him for defending freedom and human rights as Ukrainians fight back against the invasion.
Update 3/15/2022 4:24 PM ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Trudeau’s office.
