Canada shuts ports to Russian ships over war with Ukraine

By Mitchelle Uzorka, 06:31am

On Tuesday 1st March, Canada increased pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by shutting ports to Russian-owned ships and saying that holdings of all Russian oligarchs and companies in the country are under review.

The Canadian Government has announced a series of measures to isolate Russia, which includes imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, closing Canadian airspace to Russian planes, banning oil imports and forbidding Canadian financial institutions from dealing with the Russian central bank, acting in tandem with other Western countries. 

Russia represents less than 2% of Port of Montreal’s annual containerised volumes, and the ban will have little commercial impact, a port spokesperson said.