Nepean MP Chandra Arya says he's been informed by the Liberal Party of Canada he's not permitted to run in the leadership contest to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

OTTAWA - One of the seven Liberal leadership hopefuls says the party is not allowing him to run, as another high-profile cabinet minister endorsed Mark Carney on Sunday.

Canadian MP Chandra Arya has been barred from the Liberal Party's leadership contest. He was informed by the party about his disqualification. Arya's campaign included eliminating the monarchy and addressing issues with strained Canada-India relations.

Arya’s exit from the race leaves six candidates: former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, former banker Mark Carney, House Leader Karina Gould, Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste and former MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla. The party will announce the winner of the race on March 9.

Arya thanked the hundreds of volunteers across Canada who worked “tirelessly” to “mobilise support” for his leadership campaign

Now, the race to sway the Liberal membership begins. The deadline for Liberal supporters to register to vote for their next leader ended on Monday, at 5 p.m., which means leadership contenders will now turn their focus from signing up new members to actively campaigning to attract votes before March 9.