WHITEHORSE — Voters in Yukon will go to the polls on Nov. 7 after a 31-day campaign that is expected to focus on First Nations relations, the economy and a controversial carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions.
Premier Darrell Pasloski called the election Friday following weeks of unofficial campaigning by all parties in the legislature.
Pasloski made the announcement at a grocery store in Whitehorse, saying he will create jobs and "stand up for our true north."
"I promise to put your families' interests and concerns first, at all times, and I promise to fight the carbon tax tooth and nail," he said.
Pasloski is against the federal government's intention to address climate change by imposing a national carbon tax, saying the North should be exempt because it already has a higher cost of living than the rest of the country.
Next month's election will be the second for Pasloski as premier and leader of the Yukon Party, which held 11 of 19 seats in the legislature at dissolution.
The Opposition New Democratic Party had six seats under leader Liz Hanson while the Liberals led by Sandy Silver had one seat. There was also one Independent.
Hanson rallied her candidates on the city's waterfront and said the Yukon Party has shut out residents.
The election will be a chance for change, she added.
"It's time for a government that understands that Yukon is at a watershed moment, a turning point where we together embrace a vision of a new Yukon," Hanson said.
Silver stood in front of all 19 party candidates, stressing the need to mend relationships with all levels of government.
"The Yukon has gone through a very stressful period of partisanship, of governments and citizens and conflict, of people no longer talking to each other. It's time to put all of that behind us to start pulling together again," he said.
