Prime Minister Stephen Harper and and his Conservative government have a vision for the North, says Premier Dennis Fentie.

'(The Conservative) government has come into office with a vision for the North, unlike the former Liberal government,' Fentie told reporters this morning at a news conference in Whitehorse.

The former Liberal government's hand had to be forced to recognize the need for a northern vision, he added.

Fentie joined all of Canada's premiers in Ottawa over the weekend to meet with Harper. He also had the opportunity to join with his two territorial counterparts to discuss the North's concerns with the prime minister, who was sworn in to office three weeks ago today.

'Overall, I was encouraged by this prime minister's approach,' Fentie said.

'Our intention is to work very closely with the federal government in a constructive way to ensure that we can maintain a very solid partnership with Canada.'

The discussions predominately revolved around resource revenue-sharing and the Conservatives' base-plus funding formula, said Fentie.

Harper was also very interested in advancing the issue of Arctic sovereignty, said Fentie.

Arctic sovereignty doesn't just address bringing more military power to the North, he added, but should also be seen as including community development and infrastructure.

'It's part of this comprehensive, very detailed Northern Strategy,' he said.

There was a clear commitment from Harper to advance Arctic sovereignty, said Fentie, but exactly how it will play out and what impact it will have on the Yukon remains to be seen.

The premier said he is confident the new government will allow the Yukon to partner with the federal level in the areas of economic development, health care and education.

'The new government in Ottawa is also promoting resource revenue-sharing in a different light than the former Liberal government.

'That promotion is about leaving more of the benefits here in the North to enhance the North's ability,' added Fentie.

There will be a continued push to ensure the territories become the principle beneficiaries in revenue coming out of resource development, said Fentie.

'That helps us develop self-sufficiency and reduce our dependence on southern Canada,' he said.

Harper has committed to providing more province-like powers to the territories, he added. That will provide incentives to allow the North to become more financially sustainable, he added.

It will likely be the Northwest Territories that comes to the next devolution agreement with Ottawa, said Fentie.

'The evidence that we have today, shows that there's probably going to be a better resource revenue-sharing agreement with Ottawa and the N.W.T. than the Yukon has. I can tell you, should that be the case, the Yukon will immediately demand a reopening of our devolution agreement with respects to resource revenue-sharing.'

The devolution agreement reached in the Yukon under former premier Pat Duncan's Liberal government is inadequate in the area of revenue-sharing and environmental liabilities, said Fentie.

'I get the sense this federal government recognizes the merits of a pan-Northern approach. But, also understands there are unique issues with respect to each territory,' he said.

Jim Prentice, minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, will also be visiting the Yukon and the North in the near future to further explore issues in the region, added Fentie.

Other issues brought up during the meeting with Harper included the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the $5.1-billion Kelowna Agreement in relation to Canada's aboriginal peoples and land claims, said Fentie.

He said he encouraged Harper to stay engaged with officials in Washington, D.C. regarding the American push for oil drilling in the refuge.

He said he suggested Harper continue to use the 1987 Canada-U.S. Agreement of the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd as a foundation in Canada's opposition to the drilling.

Fentie said he also made sure the prime minister is aware of how important land claims are in the Yukon and the need to advance them, address 'unfinished business' and conclude the nine-year review.

Land claims will be further discussed when Prentice visits the territory, he said.

'I did raise Kelowna (agreement) with the prime minister and expressed how important that particular initiative is for us in the North,' said Fentie.

'The encouraging part is the federal government commitment to the principles to close the gaps.'

How the Conservative government will continue forward with Kelowna still remains to be seen, he said, but the same would have been true of the Liberals.

'The money was never there, folks,' said Fentie. 'The $5.1 billion the Liberals committed to in Kelowna was never in the budget. It's right now a paper commitment with the details to be worked out.'

Fentie said the convervsation with Harper was very candid, though informal. He added he is comfortable with the change in Ottawa and confident the Conservatives will move forward on several initiatives in short order.