TORONTO: All schools in the small Canadian province of Prince Edward Island were told to evacuate because of a "potential threat" on Wednesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a release.

The police said the students were being taken to safe locations. Prince Edward Island, off Canada's Atlantic coast, is the country's smallest province with a population of approximately 146,000.

Police in the nearby province of Nova Scotia also closed some university campuses, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said, adding some of the closures were related to suspicious calls.