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OTTAWA – Social conservative MP Brad Trost has officially jumped into the federal Conservative leadership race.

The longtime backbench MP is selling himself as “100% conservative” and someone willing to stand up and defend the right flank of the party, especially when it comes to divisive social issues.

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Trost, 42, is an outspoken anti-abortionist and self-declared “uncompromising defender of traditional marriage.” He fought vigorously, but unsuccessfully, at the Conservative national convention in May to keep the party’s definition of marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.”

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.