Liberal leadership contender Chandra Arya says party told him he won’t be able to run

Jeremie Charron has the latest on the Liberal leadership race which saw an MP’s candidacy be withdrawn.

Liberal leadership hopeful Chandra Arya says he’s been informed by the party that he won’t be allowed to run in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In a social media post Sunday morning, the Ottawa-area MP thanked the “hundreds of volunteers” who’ve helped him since announcing his intention to run and said he’s weighing his options.

“Today, I was informed by the Liberal Party of Canada that I will not be permitted to enter the leadership race,” he wrote in the post.

Arya says he’s still awaiting official communication from the party and is “carefully considering his next steps”.

“This decision raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada,” the post read.

Arya had previously indicated that he submitted the required application package to the party prior to the deadline.

His social media post does not indicate any reasoning for why his candidacy was not approved by the party.

The party confirmed to CTV News that Arya is no longer a candidate and points to a section in the national leadership rules that outlines reviews of applications.

That section says in part that the party’s review committee can use discretion to determine if a potential candidate “has demonstrated (due to public statements, past improper conduct, a lack of commitment to democracy, or other reputational or legal jeopardy) that a prospective candidate is manifestly unfit for the office of Leader of the Party.”