The federal Green Party believes the Yukon is a winnable riding and plans to direct cash and expertise here in order to bolster local candidate John Streicker's chances in the next general election.

"Yes, we are putting resources into this riding. Yes, our party is targeting ridings to win and John's is on the list,” Adriane Carr, the Green's deputy leader told the Star this morning in Whitehorse.

Anticipating an election that could come as early as this fall, the Greens have already invested heavily in leader Elizabeth May's British Columbia riding, Saanich-Gulf Islands, according to Carr.

The strategy this time around, the deputy leader says, is to situate May to win, as opposed to making a splash running against an all-star candidate, as May did in 2008 by challenging Conservative incumbent Peter MacKay in his Central Nova stronghold – and to give candidates like Streicker a fighting chance.

Streicker wants $40,000 in his war chest to fight another election, more than three times what the local Greens spent 1 1/2 years ago to capture 13 per cent of the popular vote – enough to edge out the NDP for third but achieved with far less cash than Liberal or Conservative campaigns ($56,745 and $68,781 respectively).

And in spite of their relative popularity, both May and Streicker face the same uphill battles; having enough money to reach as many voters as possible before election day and convincing them to go Green.

Carr herself is another Green candidate not to be taken lightly, having been a co-founder of the B.C. Green Party, but to win in Vancouver Centre, based on her 2008 results in that urban riding, she will need to capture 10,000 additional votes to replace Liberal incumbent Hedy Fry.

To have a chance at beating the Yukon's Liberal incumbent, Larry Bagnell, Streicker needs to muster another 5,000 votes. In Saanich-Gulf Islands, the gap May must surmount to knock out Conservative Gary Lunn is closer to 22,000.

Carr, who kicked off the Greens' annual fund-raising drive in Whitehorse last night, acknowledged that the fledgling party's financing is tight – the central excuse Jacques Rivard, the Green's former co-chair, gave for abandoning the fledgling party two weeks ago to work for Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Québecois.

"He may not have liked the way that the resources were being divided because we are putting a lot of money into the leader's riding,” Carr said.

"I wish Mr. Rivard had been patient because other than funding the leader's riding, we've all been on a shoestring.”

At least until the end of July, when the party's debt from the 40th general election will be paid in full.

The $12,500 raised through local Green Party faithful last evening at The Old Fire Hall will be split between the federal arm of the party and Streicker. Carr said the cash goes towards the next campaign and is not to pay bills from previous ones.

For a political party girding to fight another election, money in the bank is a necessity, but having effective boots on the ground is crucial, and Streicker acknowledged the efforts of his volunteers last night.

Also during his speech, Streicker noted there is no lack of opinion in the Yukon and stressed that the Green Party can and should be able to attract members and adopt ideas, regardless of politics or ideology.

"If I can't go out and be more conservative than the Conservatives, if I can't go out and show as good as or better social programs than the NDP and if I can't help to show in our policies, then I shouldn't be out here saying that we're beyond that political spectrum,” Streicker said.

As he did during the 2008 election campaign, Streicker reiterated what has become his mantra: that he wants people to vote for the Green Party because they believe in its candidates, leader and policies, and not view the party as merely a conduit to protest the status quo.