The NDP would increase funding to universities to train more doctors and nurses and would expand the role of nursing practitioners, says federal NDP candidate Pam Boyde.

At a press conference called by the NDP on Tuesday afternoon, Boyde said she believes it's important for people to know where she stands on health care.

'As a nurse, Yukoners can be assured that I have a good understanding of the Canadian health system and its importance to working families.

'I am making a personal commitment to help improve health care services by doing something about the shortage of doctors and nurses in Yukon,' Boyde said.

If elected as the Yukon's MP on Monday, she would take every opportunity to tell physicians across the country how nice the Yukon is in an effort to lure them to the territory.

She also said she advocated for the use of nursing practitioners in urban areas in Canada, to ease the burden on doctors, and would work with Yukon government authorities to attract more doctors to the territory.

According to the Yukon Medical Association, the territory has a 10-per-cent turnover of family physicians annually.

There is currently no record of how many Yukoners are without a family doctor and no list of which family doctors are accepting patients.

Responding to questions at an all-candidates' youth forum Tuesday night, Liberal candidate Larry Bagnell said his party would be looking both internationally and domestically for doctors.

The Liberals are dedicated to getting 1,000 family doctors in Canada, Bagnell added.

He said the Liberal government would also continue to build on that with the new health care transfer to the North, which will bring $37 million to the territory.

Conservative candidate Sue Greetham said she also advocated for more internationally-trained doctors in Canada's health care system.

'We have doctors in this country from other countries who are capable of starting to work in this country,' she said. 'Get them off of social programs because their credentials aren't being accepted.'

Greetham also said while her party believes in the principles of the Canadian Health Act, she felt there are already private clinics operating in Whitehorse.

'We have a hospital in Whitehorse. We have clinics all around town. I would like you to tell me if you don't think they are private clinics,' she said.

Pat Living, the spokeswoman for Yukon Health and Social Services, said Wednesday while clinics are private in the sense they were owned and operated by doctors, they were publicly-funded.

'The doctors receive a fee for the services they provide to Yukoners from Yukon Health Insurance ... from the government,' Living said.

'It's not private in the sense that if I pay money, I get to go to the head of the line,' she said.