The Yukon Party has picked a successor for Dennis Fentie, Canada's longest-serving premier.

Darrell Pasloski was elected leader of the party on Saturday following a 45-day campaign.

After a short transition period, he will take over as premier of the territory next month, despite not currently having a seat in the legislature.

The pharmacist and businessman garnered 767 votes in the election, well ahead of businessman Rod Taylor, who had 436 votes.

Yukon Party MLA Jim Kenyon attracted just 48 votes.

More than 80 per cent of the party's 1,516 members cast ballots in the election.

During the campaign, the Yukon Party's membership ballooned from about 280.

"I have to tell you that I'm truly humbled and also motivated by the response I've got from the membership tonight,” Pasloski said after the results were announced to the Gold Rush Inn crowd of about 120 at around 10 p.m.

He credited his win to "connecting with people” over the course of the campaign.

Pasloski racked up several high-profile endorsements during the race, including cabinet ministers Glenn Hart, the MLA for Riverdale South, and Marian Horne, who represents Pelly-Nisutlin, independent Lake Laberge MLA Brad Cathers and former Pelly-Nisutlin MLA Dean Hassard.

Craig Tuton, a longtime campaign fixer for the federal Conservatives and the Yukon Party, also lent his support to Pasloski's leadership bid earlier this month.

Tuton, the founding president of the Yukon Party 20 years ago, was pleased with the results.

"I think that it's a great choice. I think any choice would have been a great choice,” Tuton said.

"Obviously, I was supporting Darrell and I think he'll do a great job. But I think we would have been equally as well off with any of them.”

The 50-year-old leader-designate was a mixed bag of emotions following the announcement.

"I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm scared, I'm apprehensive,” he said. "There's a lot of emotions that go on.”

Throughout the campaign, Pasloski said his focus as leader would be on building a strong team.

"I'm comforted in the fact that I know there's a lot of great people that are around us. It will be about us working together as a team. That's what gives me the confidence and the ability to know that we can go forward and make some great decisions.”

Neither of Pasloski's opponents seemed devastated by the election's outcome.

"Seven days into a 45-day campaign, no one had come out of the wood work,” said Kenyon.

"I threw my hat in to draw people out and I drew out some good ones.”

Kenyon, who said he was dismissed from the cabinet after he publicly criticized Fentie, plans to run for a seat in the yet-to-be-called election.

In the meantime, his plans will keep him a little closer to home.

"The next couple of days, I'm going to work in the garden and sleep,” said Kenyon.

Taylor said the results reflected the work Pasloski had put in to his campaign.

"The most fantastic thing about democracy is that the people are never wrong,” he said. "I will tell you that nobody has worked harder over the last four weeks than a guy named Darrell Pasloski.”

Taylor said campaigning was "one of the best experiences” he'd ever had, and is optimistic about what the campaign means for the party going forward.

"I'm proud of what we did. I think we took the high road and did a good job. And I think this party is going to look very, very good come the fall.”

Taylor added that he plans to have a conversation with Pasloski regarding his future with the party, which he only joined recently. He has previously said he plans to run in the upcoming election.

Fentie said he was happy with the results and has "no qualms” about handing the reins over to Pasloski, though he noted that the job of premier is both "challenging and humbling”.

Fentie announced in late April he would not seek another term as leader and would not seek re-election in Watson Lake.

Currently, he is eagerly anticipating the next stage in his life.

"I'm feeling really quite excited about retirement,” he said Saturday. "I'm really looking forward to it.”

He was, however, feeling nostalgic about his political career on Saturday, and thanked the party for standing behind him for so many years.

"To lead this party, and in doing so, to lead this territory, has been very, very humbling, very challenging at times, given the accomplishments that we have achieved, very, very rewarding.”

Fentie became leader of the Yukon Party in 2002 and led the party to a majority government later that year. They captured a second mandate in the 2006 election.

In the coming weeks, Fentie said, he is looking forward to working with Pasloski during the transition phase and helping the party prepare for the coming election, in which the Yukon Party will strive to capture an unprecedented third majority government.

"That's where the focus needs to be. Election preparedness,” said Fentie.

He fully believes that winning the election is possible.

"Collectively, together under the leadership of Darrell Pasloski, we will be one hell of a formidable force to be reckoned with.”

Pasloski said his first priority, after getting a good night's sleep, would be starting up the campaign machinery.

"It's going to be about starting to put together a good team of people to come up with a platform that we're going to talk to Yukoners about over the next few months and headed toward the next election,” he said.

When an election will occur — and which riding he will run in — will be determined in the coming weeks, said Pasloski, a resident of Granger.

Besides spearheading a successful campaign over the last few weeks, Pasloski occasionally helped out behind the pharmacy counter at the local Shoppers Drugs Marts he used to own.

He was the Conservatives' unsucccessful candidate in the Yukon in the 2008 federal election.

See letters

Tuesday's Star for reaction from the territory's opposition leaders.