Trudeau tests positive for COVID-19, condemns 'hateful' rhetoric

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the anti-vaccine-mandate protests that have gripped the nation's capital for the last four days, saying he won't meet with people who promote hate and espouse anti-science views.

Speaking to reporters Monday from a quarantine site where's staying while the protests continue in the parliamentary precinct, Trudeau said he watched in horror this weekend as some of the protesters carried flags with Nazi insignia and climbed the National War Memorial.

He said the protesters who have congregated in Ottawa — many of them along Wellington Street, which runs just in front of the Prime Minister's Office — are not representative of most Canadians.

Trudeau repeated his pro-vaccine message, saying the best way to fight the pandemic is to push ahead with vaccination and the mandate rule that requires all cross-border travellers — including essential workers like truckers — to get their shots.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, said Trudeau was maligning a largely peaceful group of people who are fed up with COVID-19-related restrictions and just want to be heard by those in power.

WATCH: Trudeau speaks out on anti-vaccine mandate convoy in Ottawa

Trudeau also announced Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19. He said he doesn't have any symptoms and he's feeling "fine."

Trudeau has been in isolation since one of his children tested positive for the virus late last week. A second Trudeau child has now come down with a case of COVID-19. Trudeau said he'll stay in quarantine and work remotely while he recovers.

"It's a big challenge that my family and I are facing but there's nothing unusual or special about it. It's a challenge too many Canadians and people around the world know all too well," Trudeau told a press conference.

Trudeau got his first two COVID-19 shots last year and received a booster dose at an Ottawa pharmacy earlier this month.

Trudeau urged all Canadians to get vaccinated and boosted as cases of the Omicron variant hit high levels in many parts of the country. The prime minister's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic in March 2020.

The prime minister and his family were moved over the weekend from their residence at Rideau Cottage after a convoy of anti-vaccine-mandate protesters converged on Parliament Hill, which is just four kilometres from the family home.

The sound of loud honking and cheering filled the city over the weekend as thousands of protesters voiced their opposition to various COVID-19-related restrictions. Sporadic honking resumed in the early hours of Monday and vehicles continue to block streets in the downtown core.

The protest was focused initially on the federal government's vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. It has since expanded into a movement against broader public health measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.