Christopher William Pearson (born 1931) was the first leader of the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party and the first Government Leader in the Yukon. Pearson moved to the Yukon in 1957 and worked for the government from 1960 until 1973 when he entered private business. Prior to 1978, the territory has a non-partisan legislature with no individual acting as leader of the government or Premier. Pearson was first elected to the legislature in 1978 and led the Yukon's first party government until his resignation in 1985. Pearson's government opposed transboundary native land claims and argued that the territory should be a party to land claim negotiations. The government also fought for more responsible government in the territory and giving the territory more say over its natural resources and for the territory to be a full participant in federal-provincial conferences rather than just an observer. The government successfully obtained the transfer of a number of powers from the federally appointed commissioner of the territory to the government. The Yukon Party is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Types of administrative and/or political territories include: A legally administered territory, which is a non-sovereign geographic area that has come under the authority of another government. ... Non-partisan democracy (also no-party democracy) is a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections (by secret ballot) take place without reference to political parties or even the speeches, campaigns, nominations, or other apparatus commonly associated with democracy. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... A premier is an executive official of government. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... Responsible government is a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. ... Commissioner is a designation that may be used for a variety of official positions, especially referring to a high-ranking public (administrative or police) official, or an analogous official in the private sector (e. ...

In 1982 the Pearson government was re-elected with a majority and attempted to deal with the effects of the economic recession on the territory which was exacerbated by the collapse of the hard mining industry and the closure of the Faro Mine. In the Westminster System, a majority government is one in which the government enjoys an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or Parliament. ... A recession is traditionally defined in macroeconomics as a decline in a countrys real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more successive quarters of a year (equivalently, two consecutive quarters of negative real economic growth). ...

Pearson left politics in 1985 but his successor, Willard Phelps was not able to turn the government's fortunes around and the Yukon New Democratic Party won that year's election and came to power. Willard Leroy Phelps (born 1941) is a former Yukon politician. ... The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP) is a democratic socialist political party in the Yukon territory of Canada. ...