More than 100 New Democrats gathered Thursday evening to choose Justin Lemphers to carry the party into this fall’s federal election.

Lemphers will challenge Liberal incumbent Larry Bagnell and Conservative Jonas Smith for the role of sole Yukon MP. No one has publicly announced an intention to represent the Green Party.

Running on a motto of “nothing for us without us,” the newly-confirmed candidate was beaming last night, saying the first thing he would do is pay his dues.

“I’m going to thank everyone again because these people put in time and energy into being here and they all deserve recognition,” he told reporters.

Lemphers is the president of the Yukon Federation of Labour, and has been involved in work with the Yukon Employees’ Union over the years.

He listed climate change, environmental protection, electoral reform, income inequality and a host of other issues around inclusion as key issues facing the territory and country.

His challenger, Kaori Torigai, didn’t disagree – even directly referencing governments across Canada in her speech before results of the nomination vote were known.

“Until now, I was only a participant in politics by voting,” Torigai told the crowd gathered at the Whitehorse United Church.

She didn’t mince her words about current leaders. She called out U.S. President Donald Trump and Ontario Premier Doug Ford as selected leaders who “gave a voice to hate, to divisiveness, segregation, cutting social programs.

“There are others in our country and in our own territory that have similar views –­ this is when I started to realize I had to participate.”

She wasn’t alone in that. Lemphers told the Star in January he can see at times the difficulty for racially visible Yukoners to gain access to services, for instance.

As for what qualifies him to run for office, the 43-year-old father of three sons was humble in his response Thursday.

“The people in the room this evening – thanks to them, they made that decision, so here I am,” he smiled.

The issue with perhaps more urgency – or at least one that is brought up most frequently – is climate change and the effects of it, he added.

“There are so many great ideas out there.

“When we look at protecting the environment, it’s about not just recycling but reusing,” he said.

A short-term solution being explored is eliminating the use of single-use materials, Lemphers added.

“If we’re just using something once and it’s going into a landfill and a recycling pile, then we’re still consuming – so talking to people about what it means to be a consumer and how we might be able to hold that back.”

Lemphers will hope to carry the NDP into October’s decision day.

If he wins, he would become the territory’s NDP’s first representative in Ottawa since Louise Hardy (1997-2000).

Hardy was ousted by Bagnell in the 2000 election, which saw him serve until 2011 before Conservative Ryan Leef defeated him. Bagnell was again elected in 2015.

The Tories have already put forth their choice after Smith was acclaimed their candidate last fall. Bagnell officially confirmed his intention in December 2018.

While it may have been months since his two oppoents announced, Lemphers isn’t afraid of being behind the eight ball, with October sitting just six months away.

“I think the NDP has a message and a connection with people, and those that are interested and those that are unfamiliar with it will want to hear that message,” he said.

Though one doesn’t need to go far to see Smith’s ads at bus stops or in papers, the NDP candidate doesn’t feel he’s lagging behind after being tied up in the nomination process for the last two months.

“I think people want to have conversations, and I’m happy to have those conversations,” he said.

“There’s an awesome opportunity to engage with Yukoners, and I’m looking forward to doing that outreach.”

That dialogue will begin immediately as Lemphers turns his attention to pitching to Yukoners why he’s their best bet for their voice in Ottawa for the next term.

On hand at last night’s meeting was Randall Garrison, an NDP MP from B.C. who served as a guest speaker, and doubles as the party’s critic for national defence and LGBTQ2S+ issues.

Lemphers shouted out both his family, including father Florian and partner Brigitte Parker, and a host of other NDP supporters.

Dan Bader, the president of the NDP Electoral District Association for the territory, pointed out this was the only contested nomination in the Yukon – a hopeful sign that the party may be gaining ground here.

“Yukoners are really connecting with the NDP’s message that with love and courage, we can build a better Canada,” Bader said in an ode to the federal social democratic party’s leader, Jagmeet Singh.

“Both candidates ran a great campaign, and we were really pleased to see so many new members out at the meeting,” Bader added.

The federal election is set for Oct. 21.