Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson have been told they should make at least one major speech in the North during the election campaign.
They were urged to come to the North of England and explain how they will address the key issues that matter to the 15 million people living here.
The challenge came from think tank the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, in a letter to each of the three main party leaders.
It said: "This election cannot be and must not be purely about Brexit."
And it warned: "The North-South divide was one of the primary causes of the Brexit vote.
"The alienation felt by working class communities facing the hard realities of decades of de-industrialisation.
"Young people held back due to a lack of opportunities, in education and in getting on and into a high skilled job.
"The North needs to be a place of hope, to turn back the tide of those left behind wherever they live, town or city, whatever their identity and whatever their background."
The letter highlighted the Power up the North campaign, which earlier this year saw 33 regional newspapers including ChronicleLive join forces to call on the major political parties to commit to the Northern Powerhouse in full.
And it raised some of the issues that the party leaders could address, including lack of investment in the train network and poor school results.
The letter said: "Our train network has had no new line from West to East since the Victorian era, and its lack of reliability and capacity causes misery for commuters and sluggish productivity for businesses."
It added: "Improving local bus services alongside trams, the lifeblood of communities, must also be a commitment."
And it said many schools in the North lag behind those in other parts of the country, adding: "The main reason for this is the social disadvantage in many children's backgrounds.
"Establishing a new Northern Schools Board, together with increased funding and further powers for elected mayors and combined authorities over skills, could narrow the educational attainment gap whilst getting our whole workforce to embrace the opportunities of the next Industrial Revolution."
But the general election offers "a golden opportunity" for party leaders to explain how they will rebalance the economy, the letter said.
It added: "Today, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership is calling on Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson to each pledge to come to the North to make a keynote speech addressing the critical issues that matter to the 15 million people living here."
The Northern Powerhouse Partnership is a think tank founded by former Chancellor George Osborne to champion the idea of the Northern Powerhouse.
The election campaign officially begins today, Wednesday.
The party leaders are expected to tour the country, although it remains to be seen where they will make significant speeches rather than merely posing for photographs.
