Police have bolstered security on the streets of Montreal in an effort to prevent ongoing protests from disrupting the city's Formula One Grand Prix race.
About 30 people were arrested at a subway stop near the racetrack on Sunday, a move that a police spokesperson called a preventative measure.
The individuals who were arrested were carrying objects that led police to "believe they could commit criminal acts," Montreal police spokesperson Anie Lemieux told the Canadian Press.
Extra police officers are on duty across Montreal as the F1 race gets underway at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
Police have also increased their presence on the city's subway system, particularly on the transit line carrying passengers to the Canadian Grand Prix.
An anti-capitalist group has called for disturbances on the line used by racing fans.
Other protest groups, including those opposed to tuition hikes, have voiced plans to show up at the Grand Prix - which demonstrators are using as a platform to publicize various causes.
The lucrative, weekend-long tourist event has attracted protesters opposed to capitalism, tuition hikes, the exploitation of women and Bahrain's current government, among other issues.
Many demonstrators have condemned the F1 race itself, calling it a sexist and elitist event.
"I just find it to be a really disgusting display of wealth and excess, which is really insulting in the context of what's happening right now," one female protester told CTV News on Saturday.
Ongoing protests have gripped Quebec for several months now. What began as student opposition to a proposed tuition hike by Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government has evolved into shows of frustration over various causes.
An emergency protest law enacted by the government has only stirred tensions, with demonstrators refusing to submit rally plans to police in advance, as the law requires.
In the latest round of clashes, police used tear gas and pepper spray against protesters who fanned out into the streets of Montreal on Saturday evening.
At least 28 arrests were made by the end of the night.
Four police vehicles were trashed as well, with vandalism ranging from smashed windows to graffiti of a red square - the adopted symbol of the province's student tuition protesters.
The confrontations followed a day of otherwise peaceful demonstrations.
In one protest, several dozen people marched down Crescent Street to call for a post-secondary tuition freeze and voice their disapproval of the Formula One race.
Between 20 and 30 police officers trailed the protesters, who were banging pots and pans as they marched -- a Latin American form of protest catching on in the province.
