Premier Ranj Pillai hopes to establish new confidence and supply agreement with NDP

Ranj Pillai, Yukon's new Liberal leader, was officially sworn in as the territory's 10th premier over the weekend. Pillai and his cabinet took the oath of office before Administrator of Yukon Adeline Webber during a public ceremony in Whitehorse on Saturday.

Pillai was the only candidate in the leadership race to replace Sandy Silver.

CBC's Elyn Jones, host of Yukon Morning, spoke with Pillai about his new role as leader of the territory.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

How does it feel for you to be premier now?

There's a number of different emotions. First, I think the weight of the job — it's a huge responsibility. And that started to set in last week and more as we go into this week. Humbled. I mean, this is a significant opportunity to work with so many Yukoners but more to provide service to Yukoners. That's the way I look at the job — it's about service and doing your very best.

There's some nerves because you don't want to let people down. You don't want to let Yukoners down. You don't want to let your cabinet down. You don't want to let the people who supported you down. So yeah, there's a lot of different feelings as we go into week one.

What are some of your priorities that you want to focus on in this job?

Oh, there's so many priorities. I mean ... I believe that the work that we've undertaken has been transformational in the Yukon. First, I think our commitment to reconciliation has been ... the leadership of Premier Silver was significant as well as working alongside [Council of Yukon First Nations] Grand Chief [Peter] Johnston. I think that's work I want to continue on with. I'm looking to meet with First Nation leadership very quickly, and to get a sense of how we continue that work and how we can improve on that work.

Really, from a standpoint of the work of Yukon government, it's about health care, it's about education, and it's about housing. I think our economy's in really good shape. It has been in good shape. I know, there's some headwinds that we're hearing about but overall it's really, I think, those other areas we've improved on but, still there's lots of work to be done.

Why did you want this job? Why do you think you're the right person to be premier of the Yukon?

I've always been dedicated to service, that's what feels right. I mean, there's lots of things, you know, that I'm not very good at and I've always felt good at working on behalf of others and trying to make individuals' or groups of individuals' lives better. And I think this is pretty much, in this country and in this territory, this is one of the most significant callings when you want to do that type of work.

I like to collaborate with other leaders and to decode out a vision and and then to communicate to the folks on that journey with where we're going and how we're going to get there. And I think those are some of the core competencies of the job. Politics and leadership had been a passion my whole life and it felt like at this particular time, it was the right time.

In the swearing in on Saturday, you did not reveal a cabinet shuffle other than Jeanie McLean being made the deputy premier. Why didn't you decide to make some changes in your team?

We're halfway through a mandate, and I thought it was important to continue on with the work that those individuals were doing and the good work they were doing.

But you did make changes in the public service and the senior levels, the deputy minister level, what does that say about your leadership style and the direction of government — changes in education, changes at the top of housing?

I'm working on pulling together a team of senior public servants that I feel are going to work well with me and they're going to refocus on areas that are of really significant priority. And so I wanted to make those changes quick and be able to hit the ground this week.

The federally-appointed conciliator is at an impasse right now with PSAC [the Public Service Alliance of Canada] and the government of Yukon. On Saturday, you recognized the cost of living ... as one of the challenges facing Yukoners. Why is it difficult then to come up with an agreement with the public service?

Well, I think Steve Geick, who's in a leadership role with the union, is doing his very best to ensure he gets the best possible deal for the union members. That's his job. And I've been a negotiator on behalf of union, I've sat on the union side, negotiating collective agreements, and been a shop steward. I understand the role of union and the work he has to do and I think that he's doing his very best to get the most appropriate deal for his members.

For the Yukon government, we are in a time where the federal government is signaling austerity measures. We have less resources but are being asked to do more across … education and housing and health care, they're all very expensive areas and initiatives. So my hope is that through the next part of this process, they'll get a deal in place. I think that we'll get there. There'll be some pressure until we get there and that is what negotiation of this type looks like.

Part of what I want to see happen in the territory is having the union and private sector and public sector work together. We did it during COVID, Minister [Richard] Mostyn and I reached out to union leaders right away when we walked into that situation, and having the advice in collaboration with union leaders was extremely important.

It's always been sort of a conflict around those conversations. I don't think it should be. We're in complex times. There's complex challenges ahead of us and I think we really have to be able to respect our differences and opinions but we have to be aligned because Yukoners at the end of the day, want people working on their behalf across the board.

Do you think we'll see strike action?

I wouldn't jump to that yet. I think there's a number of pieces or processes in front of us and hopefully that will get us to a good place.

The confidence and supply agreement [that the Liberals struck with the NDP in order to hold power] expires with the NDP in two weeks. So what's the future of that agreement?

I reached out to [NDP Leader] Kate [White] quickly as I've taken on this role. I have a huge amount of respect for Kate. I think that the work around [the agreement] led to some great changes in the Yukon to be open to Yukoners. That agreement prioritized a lot of areas in government and public servants worked to make sure that we put those pieces in place. I'm excited to see what a 2.0 of this agreement would look like again, I don't want to predetermine the outcome of it, but we'll be working along side Kate's team and seeing if we can get alignment and continue on with the agreement. 

Would you consider coming up with an agreement with the Yukon Party instead?

My sense has been, in 2021, at that time, Premier Silver had reached out to both opposition parties. And at that time, there didn't seem to be any interest from the Yukon Party. I would say, based on the comments over the last week, that doesn't seem like an option and the relationship we've had with the NDP has been a good relationship. That doesn't mean that we see eye-to-eye on everything, that doesn't mean that there's not some bluster at times, but alignment on issues when it comes to caring about the most vulnerable people in our society, and some of the other key issues and priorities that I have such as health care, and education fit well, I think, with the view that Kate has.

Have you spoken with the Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon? 

No. He said he called and left me a message, which I really appreciated. I called him back. We didn't get a chance to speak directly and I know that he posted some kind words on social media and I, yeah, I really appreciate that.

The Yukon party, though, is also saying that they want to see an election so that you get a mandate as leader of the party, not just as MLA of Porter Creek South. So, what do you say to Yukoners who might share that concern and say they want an election?

I think the majority of Yukoners want us to be working on their behalf right now. I don't think the majority of Yukoners want to see an election.

But you're in a minority government situation. Can you carry on to hold power if you don't get a confidence and supply agreement?

As you'll hear from most politicians, I can't speak to hypotheticals. I know that having an agreement truly gives more certainty. And that's what we're seeking, is that partnership and that agreement. If there's not [an agreement] in place, it comes down to the Legislative Assembly and it comes down to votes. And so the first order of business is to work with Kate White and her team, and we'll see how that goes. And then I'll have a better understanding of the challenges ahead.

So at this point, you don't plan on calling an election?

No. Again, I truly believe the majority of Yukoners don't want to see an election and we have work that is underway, important to many Yukoners and for many different reasons. And I want to continue that work. But I'm also aware that I have to be ready for an election and our team is focused on that as well.

Overall, what are you hoping to achieve as premier?

I think looking ahead to decisions and a vision that focuses past election cycles is going to be big. 

I think there's work to do right now, around those key items. But when we think about Arctic sovereignty, that's something that's really been on my mind for a long time, previous to the challenges in Ukraine. I think we have to occupy the field as Yukoners, and the Yukon government. I think we need to see more leadership on the federal side that we're not seeing so I think that we have to really think about what changes in the Arctic are going to mean to us. A lot of Yukoners forget we have a coastline there and it's going to be busy in the decades ahead. So how do we prepare for that?