At the beginning of the Yukon Party's leadership campaign, Rod Taylor felt like the dark horse in the race.

"There's no question that when I first declared my intention to enter into the race, I knew I was an outsider, obviously,” Taylor said in an interview Thursday.

The businessman is the former chair of the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon.

Taylor said his decison to run was a "matter of timing.”

"There were a bunch of really important people to me that convinced me that now was the time, one of whom was the premier himself,” said Taylor.

He has received endorsements from Deputy Premier Elaine Taylor, Speaker Ted Staffen, Community Services Minister Archie Lang and Environment Minister John Edzerza.

Much has been said of Taylor's political affiliations as of late.

The candidate, currently the vice-president and chief operating officer of Waste to Energy Canada, said he chose the Yukon Party because of its "unwavering support and recognition of the importance of a private sector economy.”

Supporting and nurturing that economy is essential, said Taylor, adding that he wants to build on the work of the current government.

"I think what we need to do is more of the same,” he said. "I keep preaching ‘evolution, not revolution.'”

Simultaneously maintaining a high quality of life is important, however, said Taylor.

As long as the economy continues to grow and flourish, Taylor said, there are some social issues he would like to tackle.

Those include looking at the territory's current youth and adult addiction programs, and "exploring alternative approaches to learning at the elementary school level.”

There are also areas in which the current government could be improved upon, Taylor said.

"We need to do a better job of being transparent, of communicating more and having an accountability for that.

"The way that we deliver the message, sometimes we can do a better job. But the message, at the end of the day, I think, has been a good one.”

Looking at restraints to economic growth would be Taylor's first priority, should he be elected leader — and the territory's new premier — on Saturday.

One such restraint is the Yukon's energy capacity. Taylor advocates for connecting to the B.C. grid to help solve the problem.

"There's absolutely a possibility that it can happen,” he said.

"Whether or not it will happen in my lifetime is another question because we clearly need to find multiple funding partners to make this work.”

No matter what, the project cannot be done by the territorial government alone, said Taylor.

"At the end of the day, it's really a question of, can we find some First Nations partners that are interested and can we find some funding partners both that are private and through the federal government?”

Taylor said the current federal government's "pro-Yukon” stance will help get projects like connecting to the B.C. grid started.

"(Prime Minister Stephen Harper) has shown that he has an appetite for funding some of these larger projects that have a real legacy to them,” said Taylor.

While he doesn't have the political experience of his leadership opponents, he's not concerned that he is unprepared for what the job may have to offer.

"There's no question in my mind that I have the core competencies and the business sensibilities required to do the job,” he said. "But there is a learning curve.

"Fortunately, I'm a very fast learner.”

At the end of the day, Taylor said, he is the candidate putting out "real examples of real solutions to the challenges facing the Yukon.”

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