OTTAWA—Federal officials were caught off guard by Saudi Arabia’s angry response to Ottawa’s social media criticism of the detention of several activists, saying that Canada’s message was little different than what had been conveyed publicly and privately in the past.

The tweets sent by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her department set off a diplomatic firestorm that saw Saudi Arabia’s leaders accuse Canada of “blatant” interference in the kingdom’s affairs and react with a series of retaliatory measures.

Yet Canada has been voicing concerns broadly about human rights in Saudi Arabia and specifically on the case of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi “and our stated concern that it’s inconsistent with their commitment to reform,” a senior official told the Star Friday.

“This is going back months,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

“It is interesting to see this reaction now, given that this is not necessarily new,” the official said.

For example, at a meeting of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation in Bangladesh in May, Freeland held a bilateral meeting with her Saudi counterpart, foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, and those topics were part of their discussions then and in a follow-up phone call several weeks later, the official said.

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Trudeau has been talking about the case of Badawi for several years, telling reporters in 2016 for example, that he was concerned and was ensuring that then-foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion was doing everything he could to get him released.

In the Commons, Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat MPs have spoken out about Badawi’s case. In April, Liberal MP Omar Alghabra (Mississauga Centre), parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, told MPs the government was raising it “at the highest level.”

That same month, Trudeau spoke with King Salman bin Abdulaziz about the relationship between the two countries, domestic reforms in Saudi Arabia and the “importance of respecting human rights and freedom of speech,” according to a read-out released by the prime minister’s office. Trudeau also expressed his “serious concern” with Badawi’s detention, the read-out said.

The tweets that sparked this week’s diplomatic spat concerned the recent arrests of activists in Saudi Arabia, including Samar Badawi, the sister of Raif. “We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists,” the foreign affairs department tweeted on Aug. 3.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had already voiced its own concern with a spokesperson urging Saudi Arabia to “unconditionally release all human rights defenders and activists who have been detained for their peaceful human rights work.”

But two days later, Canada was in Saudi Arabia’s crosshairs in an angry condemnation of Ottawa’s comments. It declared that Dennis Horak, Canada’s ambassador in Riyadh, was persona non grata and put a freeze on future trade and investment between the two countries.

Freeland spoke with al-Jubeir on Tuesday in a long conversation described as “professional” as both officials laid out their respective concerns.

“It’s important from our perspective to be able to engage in dialogue with them and certainly they were very willing to take our call. A dialogue is open,” the Canadian official said.

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Freeland used that discussion to “seek clarity” around Saudi concerns and “chart a path forward.” But she also reiterated “quite clearly” Canada’s position “that it can and should speak out about human rights, both in public and in private,” the official said.

The two are expected to speak again though no call has yet been scheduled.

Freeland has also reached out to officials in Germany and Sweden — two other countries that also have had diplomatic tiffs with Saudi Arabia — to hear firsthand about their experience.

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