Graham Lang has decided to resign his Conservative party candidacy for the next federal election.

Lang, 26, won the candidacy on May 17 amidst speculation about a possible upcoming federal election due to the pending confidence votes in the House of Commons.

The son of Yukon Party cabinet minister Archie Lang had arrived back in the Yukon from law school at the University of Saskatchewan only days before declaring his run for the nomination.

He previously told the Star that the possibility of a summer election had spurred him on to the decision to run and if he should win the riding in an election, he was willing to put off completing his schooling.

However, with the date of the next election now unknown, Lang isn't ready to put his life on hold.

'Politics is about personal windows of opportunity,' he said in a statement released this morning.

'Being a law student created a window of opportunity for a run in a summer election. Unfortunately, the same personal situation that allowed me to dedicate a summer to politics forces me to surrender the nomination in light of a now-uncertain election date.'

Lang met with the Yukon's Conservative Party of Canada executive on Thursday night and agreed to relinquish his nomination.

In an interview this morning, Lang said he has been meeting with many people over the last several weeks and the overwhelming message has been for him to return to school.

'I've got to go on with life,' said Lang. 'I couldn't take the nomination back with me to law school.'

Lang said he had waited until now to call off his bid because to him, it had still looked like there might be an election due to this year's volatile session of Parliament.

However, the federal Liberals managed to get their budget and the controversial same-sex marriage legislation through the House without any of the drama and suspense of May 19, during the historic vote that called on Speaker Peter Milliken to break a tie.

Tony Fekete, the Conservative party's riding association president, said he isn't upset by Lang's resignation.

'It's his decision,' he said. 'The party will be better off because he couldn't fulfill his obligation.'

There aren't yet any plans for the next nomination race, he said, but it will likely start in the fall.

'It starts the process again,' said Lang.

Fred Jennex, 58, was the only other candidate to run against Lang for the nomination. Jennex worked as the campaign manner for Watson Laker James Hartle, the Tory candidate in the 2004 federal election.

Jennex, a territorial employee, had run for the nomination with his longtime dream of going to Ottawa, but lost the bid to the younger Lang.

'It took a long while to say, Yes, I'll take this challenge,'' Jennex told the Star today regarding his spring run for the candidacy. He said he isn't sure if he'll run again.

'That's something I'd really have to seriously consider,' he said. 'I'll have to wait and see.'

It is again reconsidering a change of lifestyle, and it won't be an easy decision, he said.

Lang said he's a little disappointed that he won't be running in the next election but added, 'That's how the ball rolls. Politics has always been a volatile profession.'

Lang will be returning to Saskatchewan in the first week of August to begin preparing for the next academic year and to help get the Law Student Association up and running.

As a historical footnote, it was 31 years ago today July 8, 1974 that the Liberals' Pierre Trudeau won his third of four elections, defeating Robert Stanfield's Conservatives.