They held a chalk-in to express their displeasure, and the demonstrators’ chalk boards were chock full of messages to Education Minister Yves Bolduc – they aren’t happy with what his government is proposing to do to the education system.

Gustave is five and just learning to write. Scrawled on his chalkboard was a somewhat legible message – “School is important.”

His aunt Raphaelle Sinave worries budget cuts will affect his ability to get the speech therapy he needs.

“We are battling to have some services with Gustave,” she said.

The event was organized by the group Professors Against Austerity, but representatives from many different groups showed up at Place Emilie Gamelin Sunday to announce there will be at least 40 anti-austerity demonstrations taking place across the province this week.

There are plans for at least one event to be held in the Montreal area every day until Friday.

Weeks away from the unveiling of the budget, the groups want the government to rethink their strategy to jumpstart the economy.

“The government wants to increase class sizes while reducing services offered to students,” said Annie Caron, member of Professors Against Austerity.

The true extent of cuts won't be known until the budget is tabled in the spring. But Quebec solidaire MNA Manon Masse says some sectors have already been targeted for cuts.

“What we know is CEGEP and university will have big cuts and this will have a big impact,” she said.

UQAM, just steps away from the park where the chalk in was held, was a hotbed for the student unrest that took over the streets of Montreal in the spring of 2012.

Back then the issue was tuition fees, but this time it’s the liberal government’s austerity measures that may bring students back to the streets again, according to militant student group ASSE.

"The political context is quite different because they're not attacking specifically students but it's all of us. So it's all of us fighting together,” said spokesperson Camille Godbout.

Alexa Conradi, president of the Quebec Federation of Women, says the government is unaware of how social cuts hurt women.

“For those who are nurses, teachers, they are [forced] to do more with less and are under greater pressure,” she said.

Organizers say their slate of demonstrations may just be a warm up for what could be a very busy spring, if the government doesn’t reconsider its position.