‘They were against me:’ Trost reflects on riding ouster

Brad Trost says he feels he let down his constituents after losing the Conservative nomination in the Saskatoon-University riding over the weekend.

Trost was defeated Saturday by current Saskatchewan Party MLA Corey Tochor.

Trost told 650 CKOM Monday he didn’t campaign enough to save his seat.

“I didn’t take the challenge as seriously as I should have,” he said.

The 14-year veteran of the House of Commons said he’d still be the CPC nominee for the riding if he hadn’t gone on a vacation to Florida as campaigning began.

“If I had a few more days I would have won,” he said. “But that’s life.”

Trost dismissed the possibility of running as an independent candidate, saying his own shortcomings shouldn’t “cause problems for the members of the party.”

He also suggested the lack of a re-election campaign won’t affect his actions in Ottawa, since he’s always stuck to his own beliefs in votes on abortion and other issues.

He admitted those stances may have caused him trouble in the nomination contest.

“I was always pretty open with what I believed in from day one,” he said.

“And that was the criticism in the nomination race. They were against me.”

He said he’s discussing the next step in his life with his wife. Among the options is returning to his work as a geophysicist.

“We’ll see, I’ve had a good run.”