Premier Dennis Fentie is not ruling out an early election as MLAs prepare to return to the legislature on Tuesday.

"I know there's a lot of speculation, and I've tried to be as clear as possible. We were elected to serve the public for five years in 2006 and that's what we plan to do,” Fentie told the Star this morning. "But one would be remiss if we didn't now assess all the possibilities.”

Staring down the barrel of a leadership review at the ruling Yukon Party's annual spring convention this year, Fentie promised party faithful that if they stuck with him, he would call a leadership convention in spring 2011.

But some believe that Fentie, reeling from the ATCO scandal and facing a party membership divided over his leadership, would have an easier time fighting a general election than a leadership challenge.

Adding weight to the theory that the premier and the Yukon Party will go the polls earlier than 2011 is his failure to call a byelection for Whitehorse Centre, where its seat has been vacant since July 28, following the death of its former MLA, New Democrat Todd Hardy.

While election rules allow the government leader to wait until Jan. 21, 2011 to call a byelection, opposition parties had hoped Fentie would move to fill the seat prior to the fall sitting.

Traditionally Whitehorse Centre is a riding that has favoured either Liberal or NDP representation. As New Democratic Party Leader Liz Hanson is without a seat in the assembly, a byelection in the downtown riding would give her the chance to steer debate from the floor of the legislature, instead of the sidelines.

In the wake of criticism that leaving the seat empty for the fall sitting was undemocratic, Fentie continues to maintain that Whitehorse Centre voters would be well-represented by the Yukon Party government.

Hanson, who could not be reached for comment this morning, has previously dismissed that posture and today, Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell said Fentie had no intention of calling a byelection before the fall sitting.

"The premier did that deliberately. He could've called a byelection a month ago to allow the seat to be filled but he didn't,” Mitchell said. "And people who are living in the downtown riding are upset.”

The state of the territory's finances is likely to be the focus of much debate as the fall sitting proceeds through 28 days beginning Sept. 21, but from Mitchell's perspective, getting answers from Fentie always presents challenges.

"And we don't have a lot of confidence in the information the premier is providing us with,” said Mitchell, adding that the current government was "hemorrhaging money and borrowing more” to maintain service levels and build infrastructure.

After the government projected a $19-million surplus for 2009/2010, it came up $23 million in the red for that fiscal year.

For 2010/2011, the government has projected a $2.9-million surplus but new contracts for teachers and government employees have more than gobbled up that slim margin.