Maxime Bernier Wasn't Invited To Canada's Election Debates & Here’s How He Reacted (VIDEO)

People's Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier says he's "not surprised" that he wasn't invited to the upcoming federal election leaders' debates, although he says Canadians will not stop hearing from his party.

Responding to the news that he is not eligible to participate in the debates, Bernier said he felt "disappointed, but not surprised" and blamed the "political establishment cartel" for the decision.

"I do not blame the commission, whose criteria were clear and objective," he said in a statement on August 21.

He continued, "Rather, I blame the political establishment cartel, which refuses to debate the crucial issues we raise and has done everything to marginalize us since the founding of the PPC."

In order to be eligible to attend the debate, a party leader must meet the criteria laid out by the Leaders' Debates Commission — a non-partisan and independent organization responsible for organizing federal leaders' debates.

Based on this criteria, Bernier does not qualify to attend the debates, which are scheduled for September 8 and 9.

Instead, the leaders of the Bloc Québécois, Conservative Party of Canada, Green Party of Canada, Liberal Party of Canada and New Democratic Party will go head-to-head.

Despite the decision, Bernier added, "I can make this promise to Canadians today: debate or no debate, you will keep hearing from us!"

The PPC leader was also left out of the leaders' debates in 2019. On Saturday night, he re-shared a meme from that period with the message, "It won't be a real debate if I'm not there. It will be a phony discussion where they attack each other based on their superficial differences."