Nycole Turmel will lead the New Democratic Party until in chooses a new leader in the New Year.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday afternoon in the foyer of the House of Commons, the Interim Leader acknowledged that replacing Jack Layton will be a formidable challenge for the party, which vaulted into Official Opposition under his leadership in the last election.
"Lets be clear, we will not replace Jack Layton," she said. Canadians across the country are mourning the death of the charismatic leader universally known as Jack. "... The shoes are really big to fill," she added.
But "we have the obligation to continue the work," she continued. "That's what he gave us as his legacy."
The NDP faces multiple challenges going forward. Mr. Layton had come to literally personify the party; it was he who millions of Quebeckers voted for, not for local candidates many had never heard of and many of whom had not even campaigned in their ridings.
With those 59 Quebec MPs, almost all of them political novices, grafted onto the party's long-established English Canadian base, and with no leader to guide them, Ms. Turmel's task is to keep the party united and motivated until a new leader is chosen.
The first public challenge will come on Sept. 19, when Ms. Turmel rises in the House of Commons to lead the first Question Period of the fall session.
A few days before that, the caucus will meet in Quebec City, by which time the contest to choose a new leader will be well, if unofficially, underway.
Ms. Turmel agreed that the task before her will not be an easy one. "Personally, I find it very difficult," she acknowledged.
But she added that she was determined to carry forward the message of social justice for all Canadians that Mr. Layton championed. "We'll be ready for Sept. 19," she vowed.
The Interim Leader said the party will respect Mr. Layton's wish, communicated in an open letter he composed just before he died, that it hold a leadership convention as early in the new year as is practically possible, though giving time for a full leadership campaign in advance.
But the logistics of that convention will have to wait until after Mr. Layton's state funeral on Saturday. For now, Ms. Turmel said, "we wish to share with Canadians, and grieve this loss, and think about Jack."
John Ibbitson