Brad Trost
Member of Parliament
for Saskatoon—University
Saskatoon—Humboldt (2004–2015)
In office
June 28, 2004 – October 21, 2019
Preceded byJim Pankiw
Succeeded byCorey Tochor
Personal details
Born
Bradley Ryan Trost

(1974-05-15) May 15, 1974
Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Gerelt
​
(m. 2012)​
Residence(s)Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan (BA, BSc)
ProfessionPolitician
WebsiteLeadership campaign website

Bradley Ryan Trost (born May 15, 1974) is a former Canadian politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the ridings of Saskatoon—Humboldt from 2004 to 2015 and Saskatoon—University from 2015 to 2019. He was a candidate in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, finishing fourth. Trost was known for his support of socially conservative positions.

Early and personal life

Before being elected, Trost worked as an exploration and mining geophysicist. Trost holds a B.Sc. in Geophysics and a B.A. in Economics, both from the University of Saskatchewan. He married in August 2012.[1]

Political career

In 2004, in what was the closest four-way race in the country, Trost received 417 more votes than second place candidate, the New Democratic Party's (NDP) Nettie Wiebe, 435 votes ahead of the third place candidate, Liberal Patrick Wolfe, and 2368 votes ahead of former Canadian Alliance Member of Parliament Jim Pankiw.

Trost was re-elected, in 2006, 2008, and 2011 earning between 49–53% of the vote defeating the second place NDP, and the third place Liberals in Saskatoon-Humboldt in each election. In the federal election on October 19, 2015, Trost was elected in the new urban riding of Saskatoon-University with 41.5% of the vote.

Parliament activity

In November 2015, Trost was named the Conservative Critic for Canada/U.S. Relations by Interim Leader Rona Ambrose, Leader of the Opposition.[2]

Trost has been an outspoken critic of moves toward a carbon tax, arguing that such a tax kills jobs and blocks job creation. In a series of House of Commons Order Paper Questions, Trost questioned the benefits of a carbon tax and raised concerns as to its effects on Canada's economy.[3]

Brad served as a member on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources. He has also served as a member of the International Trade Committee and before that, the Industry Committee. He is the founder of the Conservative Party's Energy Caucus and is a member of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus.[4] He has also served as an elected vice-chair of the Canada-U.S. Parliamentary Association.

In the 40th Parliament Trost introduced private members legislation into the House of Commons that would open the Canadian uranium mining sector to increased foreign investment.

As a Member of the Standing Committee on International Trade Trost was an outspoken supporter of the Canada–Colombia Free Trade Agreement.[5]

Conservative leadership run

Campaign logo

Trost announced his entry into the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election in the summer of 2016, saying that "I believe the Conservative Party needs what I'm calling a full spectrum conservative candidate."[6] Campaign Life Coalition endorsed candidates Trost and Pierre Lemieux in the 2017 Conservative leadership election.[7] Between August 2016 and May 2017, Trost campaigned to become Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was the third runner-up in a field of thirteen candidates, being eliminated on the tenth ballot after coming in fourth behind frontrunner Maxime Bernier, eventual winner Andrew Scheer, and Erin O'Toole, who would be elected leader of the party in 2020.[8][9]

After the leadership race

After the election, Trost's leadership campaign was fined $50,000 by the Conservative Party for allegedly leaking the party's membership list to the National Firearms Association.[10] On February 11, 2019, the Conservative Party released a statement from its Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) which concluded: "In short, LEOC does not believe there is evidence that the Trost Campaign was responsible for leaking of the membership list...."[11] The fine was therefore removed from the Brad Trost Campaign. Trost lost the renomination as the party candidate for his riding during the 43rd Federal election on March 10 to Corey Tochor, former speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature.[12]

Positions

Trost has been noted for publicly taking fiscally and socially conservative stances. In July 2016, Trost took definitive positions on everything from taxes, deficit financing and a carbon tax to the legalization of marijuana and transgender bathrooms.[13]

During an unofficial debate in November 2016 between 9 Conservative Leadership in contenders, Trost stated: "I don't' believe climate change is a real threat.[14]

In July 2009, Trost criticized his own government's funding of Toronto Pride Week under the $100 million Marquee Tourism Events stimulus program.[15]

In November 2009, Trost launched a petition to stop the federal government's funding of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). According to Trost's petition, the IPPF "promotes the establishment of abortion as an international human right and lobbies aggressively to impose permissive abortion laws on developing nations."[16] During the 2011 federal election campaign, Trost made news when he spoke at a Saskatchewan Pro-life Association convention and noted to the audience that the government had not renewed funding to Planned Parenthood over the previous year and urged continued support for their defunding.[17]

In September 2011, Trost publicly voiced his anger at the federal government's decision to fund the International Planned Parenthood Federation. He said that Conservative MPs' requests that the Prime Minister's Office cease funding have been ignored.[18]

In January 2012, Trost criticized the strict party discipline imposed upon Conservative MPs, saying it stifled debate and independent thought.[19]

Trost was one of the few MPs at the 2016 Conservative policy convention who insisted on retaining the party's definition of marriage as "the Union of one man and one woman". On May 4, 2017 Trost sent a private member's bill to the floor to privatize the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster, and upon its second reading it was defeated 260 to 6, with only himself and five other Conservative members voting for the bill.

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—University
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeBrad Trost18,59241.53-7.07$62,436.57
New DemocraticClaire Card14,11531.53-6.47$120,992.80
LiberalCynthia Marie Block11,28725.21+15.6$99,324.30
GreenValerie Harvey6861.53-1.39$140.15
RhinocerosEric Matthew Schalm930.21––
Total valid votes/expense limit 44,77399.71 $193,381.41
Total rejected ballots 1300.29–
Turnout 45,90376.90–
Eligible voters 58,394
Conservative hold Swing -0.30
Source: Elections Canada[20][21]
2011 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—Humboldt
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeBrad Trost19,95452.7-1.1$61,713
New DemocraticDenise Kouri13,27135.1+7.3$72,371
LiberalDarren Hill3,0138.0-4.0$45,694
GreenSandra Finley9262.4-4.0$5,443
IndependentJim Pankiw6821.8––
Total valid votes/Expense limit 37,846 100.0 –
Total rejected ballots 106 0.3+0.1
Turnout 37,952 67.7+6.2
Eligible voters 56,047 ––
2008 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—Humboldt
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeBrad Trost18,61053.8+4.7$57,441
New DemocraticScott Ruston9,63227.8-1.7$43,654
LiberalKaren Parhar4,13512.0-4.9$27,728
GreenJean-Pierre Ducasse2,2116.4+2.7$5,910
Total valid votes/Expense limit 34,588100.0 $80,987
Total rejected ballots 830.2 0.0
Turnout 34,67161.5-5
2006 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—Humboldt
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeBrad Trost18,28549.1+22.4$70,424
New DemocraticAndrew Mason10,97529.5+3.9$51,091
LiberalPeter Stroh6,28116.9-8.6$44,850
GreenMike Jones1,3823.7+1.8$1,814
IndependentTim Nyborg3420.9–$1,160
Total valid votes 37,265100.0 –
Total rejected ballots 900.2 0.0
Turnout 37,35567+4
2004 Canadian federal election: Saskatoon—Humboldt
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeBrad Trost9,44426.7-23.0$61,922
New DemocraticNettie Wiebe9,02725.6-0.9$58,415
LiberalPatrick Wolfe9,00925.5+3.8$66,060
IndependentJim Pankiw7,07620.0–$73,828
GreenRon Schriml6801.9+0.6$25
IndependentLarry Zarysky710.2–$2,594
Total valid votes 35,307100.0 –
Total rejected ballots 660.20.0
Turnout 35,37363-1

References

  1. ↑ "About Brad". Brad Trost M.P. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  2. ↑ John Paul Tasker (November 20, 2015). "Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose taps women for top shadow cabinet jobs". CBC News.
  3. ↑ "Notice Paper". Parliamentary Business. House of Commons of Canada. May 9, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  4. ↑ Peter, Zimonjic (August 17, 2016). "Social Conservative Brad Trost The 6th Tory To Enter Leadership Race". CBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Brad Trost:Free Trade for Colombia". National Post. CanWest. April 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  6. ↑ "'Leaked internal poll suggests three-way CPC race: La Presse'". CBC. June 30, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "National Post".
  8. ↑ Fekete, Jason (August 16, 2016). "Social conservative MP Brad Trost joins federal Conservative leadership race, will defend party's right flank". National Post. Postmedia. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  9. ↑ Ryan Maloney (May 4, 2017). "Brad Trost's Bill To Privatize CBC Fails Spectacularly By Vote Of 260-6". Huffington Post.
  10. ↑ "'Brad Trost leadership campaign fined $50K over leaked Conservative membership list'". CBC. June 12, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Statement from the Leadership Election Organizing Committee | Press & Media | Conservative Party of Canada". Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  12. ↑ "Corey Tochor wins Conservative Party Saskatoon-University nomination". 10 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Warmington, Joe (July 28, 2016). "'God put conservatives on earth to stop taxes everywhere, forever': Brad Trost". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Postmedia. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  14. ↑ Raj, Althia (14 November 2016). "Conservative Leadership Candidate Cheered For Dismissing Climate Change". The Huffington Post. Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  15. ↑ "Contributions and Recipients",Industry Canada website list of recipients of the MarqueeTourism Events Program Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Warmington, Joe (November 4, 2009). "Sask. MP Trost launches petition against funding of planned parenthood group". The StarPhoenix. CanWest. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  17. ↑ Warren, Jeremy (April 21, 2011). "Trost under fire over Planned Parenthood remarks". The StarPhoenix. CanWest. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  18. ↑ Galloway, Gloria. "Backbench Tory breaks ranks, vows aggressive stand against abortion". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Warick, Jason (January 31, 2012). "Tory MP Trost questions 'ironclad' party discipline". The StarPhoenix. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  20. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Saskatoon—University, 30 September 2015
  21. ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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