Canadian police regained almost complete control of downtown Ottawa on Sunday after it was paralyzed by truck drivers' protests opposing the government's containment policy for 24 days.
The authorities reported that they arrested 190 protesters and removed about 80 vehicles that had sounded their horns for weeks in the notoriously quiet city.
Hundreds of truck drivers have camped outside Parliament since the end of last January to protest against being forced to vaccinate against Covid-19 to cross the Canadian-US border.
The police escalated their response to the protests, spraying protesters with pepper spray, removing barricades where some of them had taken shelter, and stressing that it was time for the truck drivers to leave.
The police operation led to the dispersal of most of the protesters, and some Ottawa residents began to take to the streets of the center on Sunday.
Many protesters refused to admit defeat, stressing that they will continue to press for the complete lifting of restrictions imposed to combat Covid-19, which are among the most stringent in the world, although some have been eased in recent days.
But the authorities indicated that "the police operation is still going on," explaining that they have put up a fence around the Canadian Parliament building "to ensure that the restored area is not lost."
"We promised this week that we would liberate our streets and give them back to our residents," Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said at a press conference. "Every hour that passes brings us closer to achieving that goal."
Although calm has finally returned to Ottawa, the historic protest movement may have lasting effects on the country's political debate.