As the Saudi government leaves its Canadian citizens for departure, 20 Saudi students have applied for political asylum in the hope of staying in Canada, the CBC said.
He quoted the Saudi-based Montreal activist Omar Abdel Aziz as working to help students whose fate was affected by the dispute sparked by Riyadh with Ottawa over recent criticism of human rights abuses in the kingdom.
Abdul Aziz, who was granted asylum in 2013 because of Riyadh's threats to his opposition, said Saudi students in Canada do not want to lose what they have achieved so far.
Some 8,000 Saudi students turned upside down in early August because of their government's sudden decision to sever relations with Ottawa and to ask them to leave at the end of the summer.