A "very, very happy" Saudi teenager who caused a sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum abroad was welcomed with open arms in Toronto on Saturday at the end of a dramatic but exhausting international odyssey.

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland greeted Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun after she landed in Toronto, wearing a skirt, a gray hoodie emblazoned in red with the word "CANADA" and a blue cap with the logo of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Smiling broadly, the 18-year-old posed for photographers with Mr Freeland at her side, but made no statement.

Later, she tweeted a video of her arrival, with the comment: "I love Canada I love you all."

Mr Freeland said Ms Qunun "wanted Canadians to see that she's here, that she's well and that she is very, very happy to be in her new home."

"She had a pretty long journey and is exhausted and prefers not to take questions for the moment," the diplomatic chief added, with an arm around Qunun's shoulder.