Conservative candidate Sue Greetham knew what she was up against from the start. Everybody did.

It was no secret among the Tory ranks that incumbent Liberal MP Larry Bagnell was a formidable challenger, given his landslide victory in June 2004 and his reputation for attending virtually every function in the Yukon.

Greetham, however, managed to bring another 700-plus voters into the Conservative fold this time around, and move the federal right-wing party into a dead heat with the left-wing New Democrats for the first time in almost 20 years.

And what the Conservatives lost locally, they made up for nationally, with Stephen Harper set to become the first Tory prime minister since Kim Campbell's whistle-stop tenure 13 years.

'We can be pleased our policies and platforms will be represented in Ottawa,' Greetham said in an interview long before the final results were in, but at a point when defeat was inevitable.

'So I am quite pleased with the outcome in Canada, and comfortable to say congratulations' to Larry.

'You cannot overlook an MP who works extremely hard and continues to get the job done.'

She said that going into the race, she did feel she had a shot at dislodging Bagnell from office, but has decided she won't run again.

In rather plain words, she said she is not a politician, and is more comfortable running a business.

There is no shortage of Yukoners who are experienced, capable and very interested in carrying the Tory platform in the next federal election, she emphasized.

While she may not run, she added, she will stay actively involved with the Yukon's federal Conservatives.

'Politics is a moving subject, constantly alive, constantly changing, and there is an awful lot of emotion,' Greetham said.

Working with numbers, she continued, balancing the books, and making everyday business decisions, are more her cup of tea.

Her cup of tea or not, the Marsh Lake woman's first crack at politics watched her poll a 28-per-cent rise in the Conservative vote, from 2,609 in June 2004 to 3,341 on Monday an increase of 732 votes.

In June 2004, the right wing vote was 606 votes short behind the left-wing NDP. Last night, it was 25 votes. In June 2004, the Tories garnered 20.7 per cent of the popular vote-last night was 23.5 per cent.

Not counting the special ballot vote for Yukoners who might be away for election day, the Conservative swing was catapulted by voters in the greater Whitehorse area.

From Carcross, Tagish and Marsh Lake in the south, through Whitehorse north to Upper Lake Laberge, preliminary numbers indicate the Conservative support rose by 515 votes from 1,793 votes in 2004 to 2,308.

On the other hand, support for the NDP in the same region fell by 23 votes, from 2,251 to 2,228 on Monday.

Liberal support remained heady across the board; everywhere.

Outside of Whitehorse, minus the special polling results, the Conservatives and New Democrats both maintained their support, with Greetham receiving 676, or six fewer rural votes than in 2004, while the NDP jumped by 45 votes to 801.

While the 60-year-old Tory candidate acknowledged Bagnell's iron grip on the Yukon, she maintained the national move to the right is a return to the basics.

It's a return to the desire for safer streets, tougher measures on crime, assistance for families in need and accountability in government, Greetham said.

'It is a return to the basics,' she said. 'It is long overdue and if we can make some changes this way . . . I think the whole country is going to better for it.'

The Conservative Party, Greetham said, is about allowing individuals their freedoms and rights.

'I and many people in the room here are disappointed Sue Greetham is not going to be our representative but we are very pleased federally,' campaign worker Darcy Tkachuk said of the Conservative success nationally. He spoke as he watched the numbers come in at Sam 'n Andy's Restaurant, the election night headquarters for the Conservatives. 'Federally, we are very pleased, if not elated.'

Local and national observers were generally stumped last night on the issue of how long a minority Conservative government will last, given the numbers at the end of the night.

But Tkachuk noted the parties don't have to 'hold hands and sing Kumbyah, they just have to find a way to work together.

'The numbers you are seeing on the screen are going to force parliamentarians to work together. It's a change for Canada, for the better.'

Yukon Party cabinet minister Glenn Hart sat quietly among a crowd of supporters, who never numbered any more than 20 or so through the night.

Hart said the national results were pretty much in line with what he thought, and suspects no matter how you slice it, it will be very interesting to see what happens.

'Regardless, they (Conservatives) are going to have to make the rest of the House happy, because, basically, the Bloc and the Liberals could vote them out,' Hart said. 'The independent is going to be a pretty important seat.

'But I think it is going to be a difficult task no matter what,' said Hart.

A longtime party supporter, Marie Cox, sat next to others enjoying the national results, the fall of the Liberals and the rise of the first Conservative prime minister since the early 1990s.

'I was pretty upset and felt really awful in 1993, and I have been hoping for this ever since that day,' said Cox, whose husband, Don, is also a longtime Tory supporter and former candidate in the Yukon.

Cox said there was a time when their support for the party waned because of ill feelings they developed related to the amalgamation of the Canadian Alliance and the Reform parties.

That's behind them, she said. Now she hopes Harper can find a way to put the national government together in such a fashion as to assure those who were nervous about his leadership that the country is in good hands.

She acknowledges Bagnell's hold on the electorate, but is also critical of how he has represented the Yukon, particularly with his support of the same-sex marriage legislation.

'He did not hold a public meeting for that purpose,' Cox pointed out. 'And for that, I am very disappointed in him.'

It's been some time, she suggested, since the territory had an MP whose work in Ottawa reflected the wishes of the electorate.

Greetham said with the change in government, she is hopeful Bagnell will take to Ottawa the wishes of Yukoners that were expressed during the campaign.