Ailing NDP Leader Todd Hardy has been acclaimed to continue to serve as the party's candidate for Whitehorse Centre in the Oct. 10 territorial election.

More than 100 supporters showed up at the joint nomination meeting last night that saw four NDP candidates acclaimed.

It was an emotional evening that included speeches from some of Hardy's children and friends.

Hardy, 49, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in August and has since been receiving treatment in St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

It is the type of leukemia most commonly found in children. Only 20 per cent of the cases are found in adults, usually over the age of 50.

'Todd asked me to tell you that is he doing fine he's in excellent spirits and is getting very good care in Vancouver,' acting NDP Leader Steve Cardiff told the crowd at the Yukon Inn last night.

Hardy's leukemia is considered to be in remission, with his doctors not finding any cancer cells in his body as of last Thursday.

His treatment, however, is slated to continue, and Hardy told the Star this morning he is not yet clear on when he will be able to return to the Yukon. He would prefer it to be sooner, rather than later.

Hardy had hoped he would be given more time to regain his strength from the 28 days of chemotherapy treatment he has just endured and another scheduled phase expected to start in the next several days before Premier Dennis Fentie dropped the election writ.

Said Cardiff:'The timing does seem a little strange, considering the fact that (Fentie) went to Vancouver and heard firsthand from Todd Hardy's doctors that Todd would be back in the Yukon at the beginning of October.'

This morning, Hardy said he felt like he hardly had any muscle left in his body and barely wanted to move, after having spent much of the last month stuck in isolation. He does, however, strive to get out and go for short walks on day passes as his doctors allow.

He said he is disappointed with Fentie's decision to call an election for Oct. 10, after he visited the NDP leader in the hospital and spoke to his doctors on Aug. 25.

'(Fentie) made a big deal about the compassionate side and then didn't think that it was in the best interest to have all three leaders there for the campaign,' said Hardy. 'It was a political decision in the end more so than any other decision.'

He speculated Fentie's decision may be because the premier fears him and the NDP the most and that this election may prove to be a two-way race between the NDP and the Yukon Party.

Hardy said there are times you just have to 'go with what you've got' and that he is confident in the way the NDP has pulled together and is working as a team.

After four years as the party's leader, Hardy said he is confident Yukoners know who he is and what he stands for despite his absence.

'There are no questions about me,' he said. 'I haven't pretended to be something I'm not.'

Hardy, however, added his doctors 'yes and no' know the writ has been dropped in the territory.

'They just kind of look at me,' he said. 'They say, We want you down here Todd.'

'There's mental health and there's physical health,' said Hardy. 'Mentally, I've got to be allowed to go home some time.

'I've made a commitment to all these people. I stand by my commitments. I live and die by my commitments.'

Cardiff told the room-full of NDP supporters that Hardy will be back to the territory before the end of the campaign and plans on getting on a plane as soon as his doctors give him the nod.

'He is the one leader who has stayed true to the principles and values of that party. He has never turned his back on his party, or made secret deals to gain some short-term political advantage,' said Cardiff.

It is the NDP that has taken the lead on substance abuse and safer communities, electoral reform, treating government employees with respect, climate change and proposing a Yukon university, added Cardiff.

'And we will continue to take the lead on the things that matter most to Yukon people: long-term jobs, education, health care, affordable housing and the environment,' he said.

Yukoners will decide between two visions of the Yukon, said Hardy: that of the NDP and the single agenda presented by Fentie's Yukon Party.

Arthur Mitchell and the Liberal party are 'a big question mark,' he said.

'We're a strong party, with a strong platform,' said Hardy. 'We've brought forward many acts and bills and I think everyone knows where we stand on just about every issue.'

Hardy has lived in the Yukon since his teens and is active in karate and hockey.

A journeyman carpenter by trade, Hardy is a former business agent for local unions. He has also sat as a board member of Yukon College, the Yukon Energy Corp. and the Yukon Development Corp. and volunteered with the Council of Canadians and Habitat for Humanity.

Hardy, along with the NDP, hosted several town hall meetings during the current mandate. They have been recognized for the vital role they played in the passing of the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods legislation earlier this year. The law is aimed at shutting down drug houses and addressing substance abuse in the territory.

Hardy first ran for political office successfully in the October 1996 election. He was narrowly defeated by then-Liberal Mike McLarnon in the 2000 vote when the Liberals swept to power, taking every seat in Whitehorse.

Hardy regained the Whitehorse Centre seat with an 82-vote margin in 2002.

Hardy's wife of 28 years, Louise, served as the Yukon's NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2000. They have four grown children Janelle, Tytus, Tess and Lymond, and one grandchild, Ellazora.