At 25, Piers McDonald had an epiphany. Working underground in the Yukon’s Keno Hill mines, as the water ran down his back and his muscles ached, he became certain about one thing: he was going to make the world a better place. Piers went from the mines to territorial politics and over 18 years in legislature, he held several major portfolios, eventually becoming premier under the New Democratic Party banner. He now runs Northern Vision Development, a major Whitehorse-based real estate investment company worth over $45-million, owning a number of Whitehorse shopping malls and apartments, as well as the two largest hotels and the convention centre. In his spare time, he fills roles like president of the Whitehorse 2007 Canada Winter Games. He talked to Up Here Business recently to tell us what makes him tick.

On what brought him to the Yukon:
I came to the Yukon as an underground miner just after university. When I first arrived here, from Kingston, Ontario to Keno, I felt like I was on the edge of the world. I ended up enjoying the work and stayed in the mines for six years.

On what got him into politics:
It was actually a dare. A number of us in Elsa decided we would put somebody’s name forward and I drew the short straw, so my name was on the ballot. I was only 25 and from pure serendipity I got elected. It was a surprise to me, it was a surprise to most other people, and certainly it was a surprise to the powers that be in Whitehorse at the time. But I knew that it happened for a reason.

That began 18 years in the legislature and 11 in government. The years from 1985 to 1992 were some of the most compelling, lively and intellectually stimulating years I’ve ever had. We opened Yukon College, built high schools, developed a new education act, established the arts centre, all kinds of things were happening in those days.

On why he decided to go into business:
In 2000, I suffered election defeat for the first time after five wins. It was bound to happen at some point. So I had to reconstruct myself as someone who had to make a living, as a businessperson. As it turns out, it wasn’t that hard. Some acquaintances and I started a small company, then sold that off to a larger company, which is now Northern Vision, brought in some investment, bought some hotels and here we are.

On why he got into real estate:
I always believed Whitehorse needed a pub on the waterfront. I saw a space that could be a really neat, funky place to live and work, and nothing was happening. You don’t expect to be able to buy downtown waterfront in a capital city that is vacant, but in 2002, it just so happens that the land behind Boston Pizza had become available. We jumped on it. The transaction took 24 hours to complete.

At the time we were well-meaning people, without much business experience and under-capitalized, although we didn’t know it. When we realized we didn’t have the money to develop anything, we sold ourselves out to a bigger company with more investors. We still have the waterfront lands and there is still a desire to put a pub right in the middle of it right on the water, but we have been distracted by buying other properties and building a stronger foundation with good cash flow.

On when his dream pub on the waterfront will finally open:
It’s a couple of years before we start putting shovels in the ground. It’s a little daunting because I know how much work has to happen between now and then. First we are going to be building four new commercial industrial properties this summer in the Marwell industrial area and doing big renovations to the Gold Rush Inn and High Country Inn.

On what he likes best about working in the private sector:
This is a very private thought in some ways – when you are in public life, you don’t get to choose who you work with. You deal with whoever comes through your door, as fairly as you can. After politics, I vowed I would choose to work with people I really enjoyed being around. And I can say that I’ve been successful at that. I’ve got a great team now. I feel like we can accomplish anything.

On what improvements he will be making to the Gold Rush Inn and High Country Inn:
We’re redoing all the furniture in the Gold Rush Inn, converting it from a motel feel to an executive business hotel. We’re replacing all the sagging mattresses with high quality bedding and decor. Travellers from outside the territory know the difference and expect much better.

On the secret to his success:
I learned fairly early on that people you work with can be inspired to do things they don’t even think they can do, if you give them the chance and give them the support to do it. Most people who work here now have never worked in a development company before, they have never built a building, they have never managed a hotel, but they came as bright, able people and in fact, some of them came from the Yukon Conservation Society – people who have good instinct for the issues and can learn their way through the job. It’s amazing what they can do. If you bring good people around you, it makes life look easy and you get the pleasure of taking the credit for all their work.

On what gets him out of bed:
The dog usually wakes me up with his barking. My wife owns and manages the Subway restaurants in town, so she’s out of the house at 5 a.m. When I sleep in past 6 a.m., I feel guilty. Being an early riser definitely contributes to my productivity. Then I go to the gym in the mornings. I don’t compromise that at all.

On what he eats for breakfast:
I eat oatmeal every day. Every single day. It’s a bit of nostalgia for my Scottish heritage that drives that, but it’s also my conscious decision to be healthy. I squandered the years of 25 to 45 not caring about my health. Now I have to make up for it and oatmeal is a good start.

On what project he is excited about:
The waterfront project is the prime motivator – designing a place people will love to live and work in – and the main reason for wanting to continue with the job. It’s more than building buildings: it is designing something that fits with this community, a place to live and work, something that is oriented to the river, something that respects the environment. It’s amazing most of the restaurants in town have no view. It’s almost as though we’ve tried to shut the environment out and that’s a shame.

On why the environment matters:
Why not care about the environment? From a business perspective, if the technology is there and it will save you money, then why not? People are starting to understand the volatility of fossil fuel prices. They may not be caring about greenhouse gas emissions but they are thinking about price. Where we can take action we will. We are exploring LEEDS building certification and determining how we can make that a standard operating procedure.

On what the Yukon will look like 50 years into the future:
The cost and use of energy will drive how we settle and how we do things. We will be more environmental. Whitehorse is going to become more and more urban. Technology will bring the Yukon into the mainstream. When I first arrived in Keno, I felt like I was on another planet. Nowadays distance means less.

On how being NDP shapes his business sensibility:
I know some people suspect that if you are a NDP and you go into business that you’ve turned a corner, but I have not changed ideologically at all. I know business can seem self-centered: you are trying to create a profit for yourself and your shareholders. But if there wasn’t social utility in what I’m doing I wouldn’t be interested, I wouldn’t be here.

On the future of the resource economy:
I don’t know if big pipelines and mega resource projects are in the future. I see the Yukon continuing to do very high grade operations for precious metals. And it doesn’t take much for these projects to have an impact. If they employ 150 people, all 30,000 people can feel it. As a percentage of the economy, mining will probably never be the same as it was. There are other things taking hold. And we shouldn’t feel inadequate that we can’t pay for the government – it’s a legitimate public investment in the North. But there is a strong desire among Yukoners to seem self-sufficient. Historically, mining has been one vehicle towards this end, but mining has never been driven by local forces, it has always been driven by boardrooms elsewhere and economics that really have nothing to do with the Yukon at all.

On how his company is poised to survive the booms and busts of the Yukon economy:
We very consciously decided we were going to be well positioned to survive in most economic circumstances. Our investments are designed to survive and thrive a boom and bust economy. If there is a pipeline and we’re all swimming in cash, then we’ll be well positioned to take advantage of that opportunity too.