Saudi Arabia announced they will be pulling upwards of 20,000 students from universities and colleges nationally

What started out as a tweet has turned into an international spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia which could have trickle down effects here in Atlantic Canada.

Global Affairs Canada called for the kingdom to release a jailed human rights activist over the weekend, resulting in the Middle Eastern country announcing a freeze in trade.

Saudi Arabia also announced the recall of thousands of students attending Canadian universities.

Numbers provided by four Halifax post-secondary schools indicate that at least 400 Saudi students study in the municipality, with tuition and boarding expense figuring in at $30,000 annually per student.

New numbers from the council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training detail the economic impact of international students in Atlantic region. That figure is in the $800 million range.

The executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU), Peter Halpin said Saudi students represent the second highest number of international students in the region.

“Because Saudi Arabian students represent the second largest source country of international students for our universities, clearly all of our institutions are concerned,” said Halpin.

Halpin couldn't provide an exact number for how much Saudi students contribute, and thinks it's too early to react to this recent news.

He added that the association is going to let the group Universities Canada talk with the federal government to figure out what the implications might be of this fallout.

Numbers from Dalhousie show 212 students from Saudi Arabia attended classes as of March 2018. Saint Mary’s estimated around 100 at the undergraduate level, MSVU reported 80 during the 2018 winter semester and NSCC had only 1 during the 2017-18 school year.

NSCAD did not respond to NEWS 95.7/HalifaxToday.ca's inquiry about how many Saudi students are enrolled at the school.