The People’s Party of Canada(PPC) and Maxime Bernier will take part in the Leader’s Debate organized by the official commission.
Debates Commissioner David Johnston issued an invitation to Maxime Bernier, to join the five other party leaders at the Commission’s two debates on October 7 and 10.
This represented a u-turn from the Commissioner’s original decision to not invite him earlier in the summer.
According to Commissioner Johnston, the change was done as he believed there was a reasonable chance for more than just Bernier to get elected.
“Based on our further evaluation, I’m satisfied that more than one candidate endorsed by the party has a reasonable chance to be elected,” says the Commissioner.
In coming to this decision, the Commissioner considered a range of factors including:
- Party membership, fundraising and organizational capacity;
- Riding level polls (conducted by the Commission), publicly available riding polls and expert analysis that show support in designated ridings; and
- Prominent media presence on a range of national issues.
Update: On Twitter, PPC leader Maxime Bernier reacted excitedly to the news before boarding a plane going to Saint John.