The Conservative party has nominated Graham Lang, 26, to serve as its candidate for the Yukon riding in the next federal election.

Ninety-three registered voters cast their ballots for Lang and Fred Jennex at the nomination convention on Tuesday night at the High Country Inn. The party did not release the vote results.

Among the voting members were several Yukon Party MLAs and cabinet ministers.

Lang had only decided to run for the nomination upon his return to the Yukon from law school in Saskatchewan about two weeks ago. He has since spent the time whirling around the territory campaigning to prospective voters.

'Yukoners are ready for a change. Yukoners are ready take on a government that has misdirected us and has led us through some of the biggest corruption we have seen in a long time,' Lang told the crowd.

'As a Yukon citizen, I, myself, was forced to look away from this Liberal government and start to look for solutions.'

Lang stressed his support of working families, especially in the area of developing policies to permit one parent to stay home to care for a child and helping young people live in and buy their own homes.

'This campaign must centre itself on a new vision for this country, focusing on positive ideas and directions that reach out to regular people and working families,' he said.

Following his nomination, Lang said he was humbled by the support from those in attendance and added he can feel the momentum building behind the Conservative party.

'To any Canadian out there that thinks they deserve better then the corruption and sleaze in Ottawa, today you've got a candidate,' he said during his winning speech.

Jennex's address to the voters focused on his work experiences and how they've prepared him for working in Ottawa.

'I operate on an open-door policy. I'm not going to promise things I can't deliver. I'm not going to promise that I can fix every problem of every Yukoner; I can't do that.

'I will try my best. I will work hard,' he said, adding, 'I've never had a job that I've failed in and I certainly will not fail in this should you be kind enough to allow me to go to Ottawa or to represent the Conservative party in the upcoming federal election.'

Following Lang's nomination win, Jennex told the Star he knew the vote could go either way. He was hopeful the vote for the younger candidate and the turnout at the meeting are an indication that factions in the Conservative party are coming back together.

During the polling time, Jennex had said he was happy to see the younger generation at the nomination meeting, adding it meant there would be youth to carry the party on into the future.

Tony Fekete, president of the riding association, said Lang's nomination is good news for the party.

'He's a young candidate. He's got a bright future and a bright political future,' he said.

Lang, the son of Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang, said he's anxious to get on the campaign trail and hopes an election will be called on Thursday.

However, the Conservative and Bloc Quebecois alliance winning a non-confidence budgetary vote in the House of Commons on Thursday afternoon now seems less likely with prominent ex-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crossing the floor to the Liberals on Tuesday morning.

'I'm very disappointed,' Lang said of her move, but added he has to respect her decisions.

The shift illustrates how low the Liberals will sink in buying votes by offering cabinet positions, he said.

Stronach's walk across the floor overshadowed the nomination meeting, with jokes and potshots at her expense.

Stronach has become Prime Minister Paul Martin's 'Billion-Dollar Baby,' Jennex said.

He added that Martin taking her onto his cabinet is one of the 'stupidest moves' he could have made, and illustrates to Canadians that he's willing to buy votes at any cost.

'He's running around with an open cheque book,' Fekete said. He added that the last two weeks in Parliament have been 'absolutely insane,' and that the Prime Minister is likely hanging himself with his own rope.

However, not everyone was shocked by Stronach's move. Don Cox, a longtime Conservative party member and former federal candidate, attended the nomination meeting and said he was 'saddened to some degree' but not entirely surprised nor disappointed.

He said Stronach's move will give the Conservatives more time to fight for the votes in ridings-rich Ontario and Quebec.

It gives the Conservatives a lot more opportunity to develop their policies, he said.

Cox added that the disarray of the Liberal government could mean that current Liberal MP Larry Bagnell winning a third term may not be such a sure thing.

Bagnell has been acclaimed as the Liberals' candidate. No one has publicly announced plans to pursue the NDP nomination for the Yukon riding.

After he lost last June's election to Bagnell, James Hartle, the Conservative candidate, vowed he'd be around for the subsequent election if Yukoners wanted him. However, the Watson Laker didn't contest the Conservative nomination last night.