Hundreds of Conservative memberships added as Trost looks to retain nomination

Slightly more than 1,500 people will be eligible to vote in a hotly contested Conservative nomination race on Saskatoon’s east side next month, according to two of the candidates vying to stand for the party in the next general election.

The Conservative Party of Canada is not yet making its numbers public, but Saskatoon-University incumbent Brad Trost and challenger Corey Tochor said their preliminary membership lists suggest the total number of eligible voters won’t rise by more than 200.

That means at least 500 people bought memberships between Jan. 18, when the race officially began, and the Feb. 8 membership sales cutoff, according to Trost and Tochor, who agreed the initial membership figure was around 900 or 1,000.

All three campaigns — Brad Redekopp is also seeking the nomination — declined again to say how much support they are expecting at the March 10 nomination meeting, but all expressed confidence in their chances next month.

“I think it’s pretty obvious the other two campaigns are going to try and win this on a second ballot; we’re going to do everything we can to win this on the first,” Trost said. “If I’m working toward it, I evidently do (think that is achievable).”

Tochor said his camp reached its membership sales goal during the unexpectedly short campaign, which is regarded as a referendum on Trost, an outspoken social conservative who is locked in a legal battle with the party over a leaked membership list.

“For a long time, Brad Trost, rightfully or wrongfully, has been polarizing,” Tochor said. “There’s people that haven’t been members in the past because of their displeasure of how he carries on. So there are people that are finally coming back to the party … and it’s supportive.”

Redekopp likewise declined to state how many votes he expects at the nomination meeting, but said he is feeling good and his campaign is “very happy with membership sales” during the three-week race to sign up new Conservatives.

The nomination meeting is scheduled for March 10 at Prairieland Park. According to party rules, the lowest-scoring candidate on the preferential ballot will be dropped and his votes redistributed to the remaining candidates to determine the winner.