NDP Leader Todd Hardy was sitting in a Tim Hortons this morning trying to rekindle the dream of a Yukon university.

'We want our young innovators, entrepreneurs and artists to see this as a place where their dreams can flourish,' said Hardy.

In 1986, some businessmen in Prince George, B.C. also found themselves chatting in a Tim Hortons about the economic situation of their region.

'They were very, very worried,' said Hardy. 'Like many other towns that basically rely on one industry, their town was struggling economically.

'Eventually one of them said to the others, You know what we need? We need a university.''

Hardy said he doesn't know what kind of reaction the idea got at first, but he's sure some people likely thought the group was nuts.

But a university in the town, that now has a population of 72,500, did happen and it happened in a period of about seven years.

In 1990, British Columbia's then-NDP government announced it would be establishing a university in Prince George. By 1992, sod was being turned and in 1994, the university was officially opened.

It now has more than 3,500 students and offers 25 bachelor degrees, 14 masters programs and one doctoral program.

It is time for the Yukon to have a university, said Hardy.

'There will be a university North of 60. Rest assured there will be,' he said. 'If we don't do it, you can rest assured that Nunavut or the N.W.T. will.'

The concept of a Yukon university is not new. Norm Easton, an anthropology lecturer at Yukon College, told the Star it has been talked about since at least 1986, when he first came to the school.

'It's been a long time, but we've always realized moving forward would be incremental,' said Easton.

Easton is an advocate of the university concept and agrees with Hardy that now is the time to move forward.

'Throughout Canada and North America, we are facing a pretty significant shortfall of university seats for the number of people applying,' he said.

Netting those approximately 50,000 to 100,000 students each year who miss out on getting accepted at a post-secondary education could be of great benefit to the Yukon if it were to establish a 2,000- to 3,000-seat institution, he said.

There is also a huge demand for northern research and educational capacity, added Easton. With the excitement and attention being cast toward the North with the pending International Polar Year, it is a great time to be establishing a new university, he said.

The push to establish the Cold Climate Innovation Cluster also provides an ideal opportunity to discuss a university in the Yukon, said Hardy.

The innovation cluster will bring a high calibre of research to the territory, that would likely eventually lead to a university, agreed Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber is in support of the innovation cluster but has not yet discussed the university concept, he said.

'I think it certainly merits further research and study from the Department of Education and probably Economic Development,' he said. 'It is certainly interesting and worth looking into.'

But there needs to be a commitment from the territorial government and the community to work together to make the university a reality, Easton said.

A Yukon university will be on the NDP's election platform.

The party leader told a chamber of commerce luncheon Tuesday a university could become a driving force in the territory's economy.

'When we move away from silo-thinking and focus on a common vision, or a common goal, Yukoners can accomplish truly remarkable things,' said Hardy.

The Yukon needs to look beyond the obvious when it comes to economic diversification, he told the approximately 26 attendees.

'Universities create many, many year-round jobs that are clean, environmentally stable and provide tremendous resources for the social programs we need,' said Hardy. 'The economic benefits of a university aren't boom-and-bust.'

A university would be good for local business, attract investment from Outside, provide greater research and educational opportunities for the territory's residents, draw students and faculty from across the country and possibly around the world, and bring individuals who want to contribute to the cultural, artistic, social and intellectual life of the Yukon, said Hardy.

'The economic benefits would be phenomenal,' he told the Star. 'It's one of those ideas that once it's done you wonder why it wasn't done sooner.'

Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell agrees it's a question of when, not if a university will be established in the North.

But it is something that requires a great deal of study before moving forward, he said.

'It's not a decision that can be made in a coffee shop.

'We have to take a hard look at what the costs are and what the timeframe is to make something like that happen. It can be an economic driver. There's also a tremendous economic cost to develop the university,' he said.

Mitchell said he is not adverse to the idea. He spoke on the issue during his campaign that saw him elected as leader of the Liberals a year ago.

But a university can't diminish post-secondary and trade school options currently available to Yukoners, he said. He added he isn't convinced a university and a college would be able to coexist in the same institution.

Easton, however, 'absolutely' believes the college could evolve into becoming an accredited university.

The institute already grants degrees in circumpolar studies, education, social work and public administration in conjunction with the University of the Arctic, University of Regina and the University of Alaska Southeast.

Becoming its own degree granting institution would simply be the college moving toward its own academic independence, said Easton.

The concept is also not something the college is necessarily opposed to, said Terry Weninger, the school's interim president.

'There's all sorts of discussion going on and it's (the possibility of a university) is on the agenda for the future,' he told the Star.

The college's board will be meeting this fall to discuss strategic directions. The three big areas the college will be looking at for the future will be continuing as a college, expanding its efforts to work in conjunction with other universities and the feasibility of becoming a university or university college, he said.

Discussion about a university is just 'part in parcel' of what has already been happening in the Yukon relating to post-secondary education and investments in the college, said Premier Dennis Fentie.

'It's about enhancing the overall delivery of post-secondary education.'

The Yukon would 'most certainly' like to be the first of the three territories to establish a university, said Fentie, but some of that decision is in the hands of the college's board.

Infrastructure-wise, the Yukon is in a position to move forward, said Fentie. But it should likely be a collective approach that involves Nunavut and the N.W.T. to create an institution that's accessible to all northerners, he said.

There aren't political boundaries to education, said Fentie, but Yukoners need to be conscious of the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to move forward.

But it's all about connecting the dots of economy, environment and social benefits, said Hardy.

'There are some politicians, and others, who like to isolate social issues or environmental issues or economic issues from one another,' he said. 'I think we make a big mistake when we do that, because each of these elements is just part of a bigger whole.

'Good social programs require a sound economy and a sound economy cannot exist without a healthy natural environment.'

It's a pitch he will be making to the people of the Yukon in the pending election.

A university is the next step in securing the Yukon's economic future, he added, and with the right government in place the political will will be there to make it a reality in short order.

'I don't know if we can match Prince George and get a University of the Yukon up and running in seven years. But I do know we won't change the future if we aren't prepared to look ahead or if we're afraid to take decisive action in the present.'