Brad Cathers speaks to reporters in Whitehorse on Aug. 28, 2009, as he announced his resignation from the Yukon Party caucus in protest of Premier Dennis Fentie's secret energy talks with ATCO. (CBC)

Efforts by some Yukon Party members to expel Lake Laberge MLA Brad Cathers from the party fell flat Wednesday night at a meeting of the party's local constituency association.

Lake Laberge constituency executives stormed out of the meeting after a majority of members indicated their support for Cathers, a former cabinet minister who left the government caucus last year to protest Premier Dennis Fentie's secret talks about Yukon Energy Corp.

Cathers currently sits as an Independent MLA, but remains a member of the Yukon Party. The executive members had hoped to revoke Cathers's party membership because he opposes Fentie's leadership.

Wednesday night's riding association meeting was meant to select delegates for the party's annual convention next week, but riding executives immediately asked members who supported Cathers.

"How many people here support the Yukon Party?" association vice-president Mike Blumenschein asked, before he pointed at Cathers and asked, "Brad, how about you?"

4 executives walk out

When the majority of the 60 attending members indicated that they would continue backing Cathers, riding association president David "Smiley" Ford and executive members Blumenschein, Shirley Ford and Calvin Ford walked out of the meeting.

"But you're the chair! You guys are the ones that are voted in as the executive," one woman exclaimed as the executives and a handful of others left.

"Don't want to listen to you people anymore," David "Smiley" Ford responded.

Blumenschein said the executive members had wanted to ensure that Lake Laberge's delegates to next week's party convention were loyal to Fentie.

"It's quite obvious. I mean, Brad has gathered enough people to call … for a leadership review," Blumenschein told CBC News as he was leaving. "The executive for the Lake Laberge constituency of the Yukon Party is not in favour of it."

About 50 members stayed behind, and the meeting was eventually reconvened with a variety of volunteers trying to direct the proceedings.

Convention delegates chosen

Before the night ended, they voted in a new riding association executive and chose six delegates — including Cathers — who will represent Lake Laberge at the convention, which is slated for May 29 in Whitehorse.

Most of the remaining agreed that it will be up to the main Yukon Party executive to decide whether those votes will be honoured.

A longtime Yukon Party member, Cathers was first elected to office in 2002 and was first appointed to Fentie's cabinet in 2005.

He was the territory's minister of energy, mines and resources, as well as the government house leader. He also served as health and social services minister.

But Cathers resigned from caucus in August 2009, accusing Fentie of being dishonest about the controversial Yukon Energy talks, which aimed to privatize some of the public utility's assets.

Details of those talks only became public when a confidential document were leaked to the media. The document showed discussions about a possible merger between Yukon Energy and ATCO, a private corporation.

"At the start, the executive had made their decision to support the leader. Of course, the [party] constitution allows every member the right equally to support the calling of a leadership election or to oppose that call," Cathers said after the meeting.

"Smiley Ford, who's been the president of the riding association, also sits on the central party executive. And it's no secret that he has tried to have my membership revoked."

With files from the CBC's Vic Istchenko