Whitehorse businessman Mike Pemberton joins race to lead Yukon Liberals

CBC News

· Posted: May 27, 2025 4:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Yukon Liberals will get a accidental to ballot for their caller person this time.

Businessman Mike Pemberton launched his run for the Liberal enactment successful Whitehorse Tuesday, promising enactment connected affordability, housing, health attraction and nationalist safety. His candidacy means the archetypal contested enactment contention for the Liberals successful 2 decades.

"I person immense respect for each citizens of Yukon," helium said. "I privation to beryllium portion of a solution and and not portion of a problem. I privation to beryllium capable to help."

Pemberton is the erstwhile proprietor of a furnishings store successful downtown Whitehorse. He's served connected the Whitehorse and Yukon chambers of commerce, the Yukon Development Corporation and the committee of Yukon Energy. 

He said that acquisition makes him a "right of centre" campaigner who volition question to easiness biology regulations and marque things easier connected the backstage sector.

"I privation to spot however we tin enactment done that to marque that easier for those corporations, those mean and those tiny businesses, however we tin enactment with them to marque things amended and they tin go much profitable due to the fact that nett is not a soiled word," Pemberton said. "Profit makes the satellite spell round."

The deadline for enactment campaigner nominations is May 29. Each campaigner volition person to wage a non-refundable information interest of $7,000 to the Yukon Liberal Party.

The Liberal leadership convention will instrumentality spot successful Whitehorse June 19.

Former Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill has already announced her candidacy for the enactment leadership. That means Liberals volition ballot for their person for the archetypal clip since 2005, erstwhile Arthur Mitchell defeated erstwhile premier Pat Duncan. Current person Ranj Pillai and erstwhile person Sandy Silver were some acclaimed.

Neither Bill nor Pemberton person a spot successful the legislature. The adjacent territorial predetermination indispensable beryllium called nary aboriginal than Nov. 3.