Truck drivers who have been blockading downtown Ottawa for six days have said they have no intention of leaving the Canadian capital until the government scraps Covid-19 vaccine mandates, reports Reuters.

The demonstration began as a move to force the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to drop a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. It has since turned into a more populist anti-Trudeau movement.

"We understand your frustration ... but the responsibility for your inconvenience lies squarely on the shoulders of politicians," protest leader Chris Barber said in a statement to Ottawa residents.

"We are here and we are not going anywhere until we achieve our objective, to see an end of all Covid-19 mandates and with that a restoration of freedoms of all Canadians," he said.