Hundreds of Saudi students in Montreal could be caught up in foreign relations spat

The government of Saudi Arabia's decision to withdraw thousands of its foreign exchange students from Canadian universities could affect hundreds of students in Montreal.

McGill University confirmed 327 students from Saudi Arabia attended the school during the 2017-2018 academic year, though it could not say how many were registered for the fall semester. 

And 60 students on scholarships from the Saudi government go to Concordia University, the school said. 

Both universities say they are waiting to hear from the Canadian government on how the Saudi decision to call the students back would affect them.

Karim Atassi, the president of the McGill-based Arab Students Network, said there has been an "element of surprise from the speed at which these issues have deteriorated the career pathway of a lot of those students."

Atassi said many of the students have displayed "academic excellence" in their fields and are on scholarships. The hope is that how bright they are will make the process of having to switch countries easier. 

Still, many are enrolled in STEM fields and have been working on research throughout their academic career, according to Atassi, and the decision "may alter or slow down the progression at which the students have worked for so long."

Saudi Arabia is the country with the fifth most international students at McGill, according to statistics for 2017-2018 published on the university's website. There were 12,052 international students at McGill during that period. 

In an emailed statement, the university said it's working with other Canadian universities "to gather information about, and assess the impact on both individual students and institutions of the recent announcement by the government of Saudi Arabia with respect to Saudi students in Canada." 

16,000 Saudi students in Canada

The announcement from the kingdom came after it said it would be halting all investment and trade activities in Canada Sunday. It has also expelled the Canadian ambassador, Dennis Horak.

There are 16,000 Saudi students enrolled in university in Canada, according to a note signed by Horak on the embassy's website. The Saudi government funds the tuition of many of those students. 

Pari Johnston, a spokesperson for Universities Canada, a group that represents 96 Canadian universities, said schools across the country are looking into how they can support their Saudi students. 

"These students are very important, as are all international students, in terms of bringing diverse perspectives, knowledge and experiences," Johnston told CBC News. 

"And when they do go back their countries, they're real ambassadors for Canada, so it has an impact and we're very concerned about these students and the disruptions for them and their families."

Johnston said international students contribute $15 billion to the Canadian economy every year.

The swift breakdown in foreign relations between the two countries followed a tweet from Global Affairs Canada, asking Saudi Arabia to release peaceful imprisoned human rights activists.

The relationship appeared to sour through Monday as the spat culminated with the kingdom announcing the students' withdrawal, as well as a stop in flights to Toronto.