Canada Prince Edward Island schools evacuated after 'hoax'

All the schools in a small Canadian province have been evacuated due to a bomb threat that police now believe may have been a hoax.

More than 19,000 students had to leave.

Officers searched about 60 schools on Prince Edward Island after getting a threat by fax. But police later told reporters that no device was found.

Universities in Nova Scotia were also evacuated. One suspicious package found near a library in Halifax, Nova Scotia, turned out to be rubbish.

The remote Prince Edward Island is Canada's smallest province, with a population of 146,000.

'Safe for my child'

Police in Ottawa received an anonymous fax warning a bomb would be detonated and threatening unspecified schools.

Sgt Kevin Bailey from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters: "To my knowledge there's been no injuries, there's been no threat found.

"I would feel safe for my child to go back to school. If nothing suspicious is found I'll be satisfied that the threat is a hoax."

Students were taken to safe locations where their parents could collect them later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Schools will open as normal on Thursday.

Cape Breton University has also been evacuated due to an unspecified threat, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says.

Schools in Winnipeg also received a threat but the city's police service said they believed the threat was "unfounded".

It is unclear whether the events are linked.

Last year, 640,000 students were kept away from school after a threat was sent in by email. In New York City, officials received a similar threat but said it was so "outlandish" they ignored it.