Francois Legault, Quebec's premier, announced on Thursday that a nightly curfew would be reimposed for an indefinite period from New Year's Eve, in response to the Omicron variant. The restrictions also call for a shut down of restaurant dining rooms and delays a return date for schools. The province implemented a curfew Friday, prohibiting Quebecers from leaving their residence between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

A similar nightly curfew had been imposed January of last year that was not lifted until late May.

As a result, demonstrators in Montreal defied the curfew on Saturday evening to protest, which lead to a dozen hefty fines distributed among the protesters.