The Ottawa City Council learned Wednesday morning that the occupation of downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks is costing the city more than $30 million.

The mayor says that federal and regional partners have indicated they will help with the payment.

The cost has been around a million dollars a day since it began on January 28 - $800,000 of which goes to additional police costs and another $200,000 to city costs.

The costs rose significantly when hundreds of police officers flooded the city to carry out unprecedented police actions that began last Friday.

City Manager Steve Kanellakos told Ottawa City Council: "There was a huge increase in costs when we brought all these officers in before the end of last week regarding housing, food, transportation, and all other expenses to keep them here."

Both the Ottawa Police Service and the city have been tracking costs since the protests began, but the bill continues to grow.

Kanellakos said: "This process is ongoing and not over yet. We still have many police and support staff in this city from police agencies across the country. We are still on alert if this breaks out again."

In the same context, paramedics and fire services worked with the police during their weekend efforts to remove protesters from downtown, municipal workers worked to clear the protests, and social services worked to reach isolated people and those suffering from psychological trauma.

David White, the city lawyer, was asked to consider whether there are any ways to recoup some costs from the protesters, including whether seized vehicles can be sold.

Mayor Jim Watson said he is optimistic that Ottawa's extraordinary costs will be covered by senior levels of government, with whom discussions are ongoing.

Watson said: "We have every expectation that they will be there to cover these costs." The response has been very positive. They realize that we are in a unique position here in Ottawa.

Editing: Dima Abu Khair