The premiers of the three territories will continue their work on the Northern Vision and hope to sit down with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss it, says Premier Dennis Fentie.

The premier has returned from the first ministers meeting held last Friday with Harper in Ottawa.

In an interview Monday afternoon, Fentie said there were positive discussions among the leaders from across the country.

Last Friday morning, Fentie met with his counterparts from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The three discussed the Northern Vision, a strategy aimed at helping negotiations between the territories and the federal government.

The strategy was unveiled earlier this year, outlining a framework for the North with a focus on sovereignty, sustainable communities, climate change and circumpolar regions.

Fentie said the provinces supported the pan-northern approach to the strategy and the proposal by the northern premiers to sit down separately with Harper to discuss it.

In the evening, all of the country's premiers took part in the discussion with Harper that focused primarily around the economy.

'That's of great concern,' Fentie said. He pointed to a number of regions which export to the U.S., but are dealing with the fallout of the strong Canadian dollar.

In the territory, Fentie said there is some concern the high Canadian dollar could eventually impact the mining sector, though that hasn't been the case yet.

There are also concerns about how it will end up affecting tourism.

Given the circumstances, Fentie said, it's important for a broadening of trading partners beyond the U.S.

The European market, for example, may be one place to start diversifying trade with, Fentie said.

There were also discussions around the labour shortage in western Canada.

There's a need to close the gap between education and the trades for aboriginal Canadians, Fentie said.

While individual jurisdictions, like the Yukon, are moving in that direction, Canada too has to come up with a way to bridge that gap on a national level, he said.

'Canada still needs a national strategy,' Fentie argued.

Foreign credentials also need to be recognized, going beyond those of professionals like doctors and so on, but also recognizing the credentials of those working in the trades, he said.

'This is a long-term challenge,' he said.

The meeting followed the federal government's announcement it will invest $1 billion into a Community Development Trust for provinces and territories to deal with the economic fallout from volatility in the global market.

For the Yukon, that could mean $3.8 million, though Fentie noted it's hard to put a date on when the territory could see that money come forward, given that it will be up to Parliament to approve the funds.