A convention to establish a territorial Green Party will likely happen in the first quarter of 2011, says Mike Ivens, a self-described organizer of the latest political movement keen on making inroads into Yukon politics.

About the same time last year, ex-Yukon Energy Corp. chair Willard Phelps held a similar meeting to explore a "big tent” nonpartisan party, but since then, Phelps' movement has all but fizzled.

"If that party had gone ahead, it may well have become a party of choice for many people,” Ivens said today. "But neither of those things have happened to this point.”

Enter the gambit by local Green supporters, 15 of whom turned out at a meeting in Whitehorse Monday evening to explore the possibility of launching the Yukon Greens.

While attendance was not as big as Ivens had hoped, he and Kristina Calhoun, the former federal Yukon Green Party CEO, plan to see a new territorial contender through to fruition.

"Based on the amount of energy and positive response we got last night, we're going to go ahead and get those members (that we need) and do that in next three months,” Ivens told the Star.

Aware of concerns from the Yukon's federal Green Party candidate, John Streicker – that forming a territorial party could dilute some of Streicker's volunteer and financial support – Ivens said a territorial Green Party would be a complement to Streicker's ambitions, rather than competition.

"The Green Party is driven on policy, so I think all we would do is reinforce each other's message,” said Ivens.

"And I think a lot of people in the Yukon are more involved in territorial politics than federal ... (so) by creating a territorial party, we'll be able to capitalize on some synergies.”

Streicker, who spoke at last night's meeting, gave his blessing to those interested in forming a territorial Green Party but re-emphasized his desire to stick to his federal political ambitions.

"I'm cheering them on but only from the sidelines,” Streicker told the Star this morning.

"And I'm staying focused on fed politics and respect that there are jurisdictional differences, but in principle, I'm encouraging them in their efforts.

"What I would say is we're a new party and we of course see ourselves succeeding on volunteer efforts, and we want people to put their effort where they feel it's going to be most effective and spent best.”

There are no territorial Green parties in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, but the Greens have provincial parties in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Ivens said he is currently soliciting advice from these provincial parties and the federal party.

While the Green Party of Canada has failed to win a seat in the House of Commons, Streicker made a strong showing in the 2008 general election, capturing nearly 13 per cent of the popular vote.

That nudged out Ken Bolton, the NDP candidate, for third place, though Streicker was still far behind Liberal incumbent and winner Larry Bagnell and Darryl Pasloski, his Conservative rival and election runner-up.

The Yukon Green Party came into existence in November 2006 with Streicker at the leadership helm, and since then, his star in the national party has been on the rise.

Both Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and its deputy leader, Adriane Carr, have made high-profile visits to the territory. Carr said the party would be investing cash and manpower into the Yukon, as it feels Streicker has a legitimate chance at getting elected.

Streicker is currently the party's Arctic and northern affairs critic, and was elected chair of the Green Party of Canada's council in August.