Conservative Party leadership hopeful Brad Trost spoke at an event in Toronto Wednesday protesting the new Ontario sexual education curriculum, during which he drew comparisons between the curriculum and residential schools for Indigenous children.

"The underlying principle is the same, yes," said the Saskatchewan MP.

"Now, the most tragic violation, which I don't think this one rises to that level, the most tragic violation in Canadian history, violation of parental rights, was the residential schools. So I think the underlying issue is the same. It's not nearly to the level of seriousness."

Ontario's sex-ed curriculum was updated last year, for the first time since 1998, to include same-sex relationships and the dangers of online bullying and sexting. Its introduction was divisive, sparking protests and motivating some parents to withdraw their children from school. One Toronto elementary school revised its curriculum this spring in a bid to keep kids in classes.

Reporters questioned Trost's presence at a protest outside the Ontario Legislature over what is generally considered a provincial issue. Trost said that he spoke to a constitutional law professor who told him the new sex-ed curriculum could be a civil rights issue.

"There's actually a federal jurisdiction involved here," said Trost. "The federal government does have the ability to step in. And from my perspective and the perspective from the people here today, the provincial government is overstepping their boundaries and interfering with people's rights — the fundamental right to educate their children as they see fit."

Trost against same-sex marriage

Last week, Trost attracted criticism with a Facebook campaign ad that defined marriage as "the union of one man one woman."

MP and Conservative Party leadership hopeful Brad Trost's Facebook ad. (pressprogress.ca)

First elected in 2004, he has been vocal on many social conservative issues, including same-sex marriage.

Recently, Trost's campaign started running ads with a picture of two fingers side by side, with the message "Marriage is the union of one man, one woman."

Weak support

A national poll of Conservative Party voters from last week suggests Trost's campaign doesn't seem to be registering on the federal stage.

According to the poll conducted last week, fewer than one per cent of Conservative supporters supported Trost, the lowest results in the survey. Seventy-one per cent said they didn't know who he was.

"He has his work cut out for him," said Mainstreet Research's executive vice-president David Valentin. "A lot of people don't know who he is."

The Mainstreet Research telephone poll, conducted Sept. 7 to 8, surveyed 5,250 Canadians, including 1,564 Conservative supporters (who are not necessarily Conservative Party members).