Sixth hopeful aims to become top Tory
Anti-abortionist vows to speak up on social issues
• Social conservative MP Brad Trost has officially jumped into the federal Conservative leadership race.
The longtime backbench MP is selling himself as “100-per-cent conservative” and someone willing to stand up and defend the right flank of the party, especially when it comes to divisive social issues.
Trost, 42, is an outspoken anti-abortionist and selfdeclared “uncompromising defender of traditional marriage.”
He will use his leadership campaign to appeal to social conservatives and other members who might feel like the Conservative party and certain leadership candidates have been abandoning some of their core principles for political expediency.
“Brad Trost is a genuine, principled conservative — a 100% conservative — who believes that Canadians are concerned about their families and deserve leaders who respect them and who can speak for them on ALL the important issues of the day,” says Trost’s new leadership website, launched Tuesday.
Trost, the member of Parliament for Saskatoon-University, is now the sixth declared candidate in the Conservative party’s leadership race, joining MPs Maxime Bernier, Kellie Leitch, Michael Chong, Tony Clement and Deepak Obhrai.
Trost is in Mongolia on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
A spokesman for his campaign said Trost decided to enter the leadership race because the other declared candidates don’t necessarily represent the true-blue conservatism that many party members are looking for in their next leader.
“He didn’t see another candidate that was going to be a principled conservative,” said Mike Patton from Trost’s campaign.