Two weeks of regular student protests began Monday with a small protest that ended with some shoving, two arrests and 24 tickets handed out to demonstrators in downtown Montreal.

About 150 students from Concordia University, UQAM and other schools gathered in Phillips Square shortly before noon and then began a march through city streets.

They were deterred by police officers from walking along Ste. Catherine St., then regrouped and went north on Union St. before turning along De Maisonneuve Blvd.

Police said the march was illegal, and attempted to break up the protest when demonstrators began walking along Rene Levesque Blvd. near St. Laurent St.

Several protesters rushed inside the lobby of SNC Lavalin but were removed by police. At the same time one officer was hit by a chunk of ice thrown by a demonstrator.

Officers used tear gas or pepper spray on the crowd, then forced the protesters onto the sidewalk and ordered an end to the demonstration.

Protesters say they are demonstrating against the Liberal government's so-called austerity measures, and hope to garner support from the population at large.

"What we are seeing right now is a government that is impoverishing the entire population so what the government needs to expect is us to react as a society and as a population," said UQAM Political Science student Fannie Poirier.

She said that 800 of the 2,200 student in her faculty participated in the vote and a majority of those who voted were in favour of taking the action.

A Montreal rally in which dozens of students gathered to protest provincial spending cuts was shut down by police within minutes of its start, sparking anger among demonstrators and leading to at least one arrest.

Almost 150 students from Concordia University and several CEGEPs gathered in downtown Montreal around noon Monday, to march through the city's streets. But shortly after, the demonstration was declared illegal because students had not provided police with a planned protest route.

The announcement that the protest was over appeared to raise tensions, leading to the arrest of at least one woman. She was handcuffed and led away after an officer was pelted with ice and injured, prompting officers to fire a canister of tear gas.

CTV Montreal's Kevin Gallagher reports that the students said they wanted to protest more than just tuition hikes and university cuts; they are also angry about cuts to social services in the province and want their demonstration to launch a broader social movement.

A similar march, on Saturday, attracted a much larger crowd, with thousands of students and citizens in attendance.

CTV Montreal's Vanessa Lee says Monday's protest was likely much smaller because of the cold weather. With the wind chill, it feels like -15 degrees Celsius in the city.

Student groups in the province are planning several strike days and demonstrations over the next few weeks, in a new wave of protests that they are dubbing Printemps2015 or Spring2015. The names are reminiscent of 2012’s Maple Spring, when thousands of students held nightly marches in downtown Montreal.

This time, the student groups say they have the support of 25,000 students from l'Université de Montreal, UQAM (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), Université de Montreal, Université de Quebec à Chicoutimi and CEGEP du Vieux Montreal.

They are planning a large protest in front of the National Assembly on Thursday, to oppose the provincial budget being delivered that day, which is expected to cut spending even further to curb the province's debt.

Concordia representatives said over the weekend that the one-day class cancellation would be “a day of dialogue and reflection” for students.

They said that they had learned many lessons during the spring of 2012, when some students tried to block others from attending class.

The school noted, however, that professors were still expected to deliver their curriculum and students not attending classes were still expected to meet the requirements of their courses.

voted on the question of going on strike her faculty has 2,200 students and 800 voted in the those who vote

Monday's protest comes as 120 classes at Concordia University were cancelled for the day following boycott votes by students in several departments.

No undergraduate classes were held in the Faculty of Fine Arts, nor in the departments of Geography, Women's Studies or the School of Community and Public Affairs.

Graduate and undergraduate courses in Philosophy were also cancelled for the day.

25,000 students support movement

Student groups say they have the support of 25,000 students from l'Université de Montreal, UQAM, Université de Montreal, Université de Quebec à Chicoutimi and CEGEP du Vieux Montreal.

They are planning a large protest in front of the National Assembly on Thursday March 26, to oppose the provincial budget being delivered that day.

Another protest is scheduled for Thursday April 2 at Victoria Square.

However the bid to gain support for the protest movement has not been easy.

Medical students at several universities have agreed to hold a one-day walkout on March 30, but they have emphasized they are opposed solely to healthcare reforms proposed by Bill 20, and not to the government's financial meausers at large.

Meanwhile students in UQAM's political science and law faculty voted to dissolve their student association last week, after many students objected to the undemocratic manner in which votes to support protests were being held.