What Happened The Saudi Foreign Ministry on Aug. 5 announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Canada and gave the Canadian ambassador in Riyadh 24 hours to leave the country. The ministry's statement also detailed a ban on all new trade or investment deals between Canada and Saudi Arabia. The countries conduct about 14 billion riyals or 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.9 billion) in bilateral trade annually. The Saudi government has also reportedly moved to rescind scholarships to about 16,000 Saudi students who had been preparing to study at Canadian universities during the upcoming academic year, and the national carrier airline, Saudia, is canceling flights to Canada as of Aug. 13 The diplomatic storm was set off by public comments last week from Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who criticized the Saudi detention of women's rights activists.