A day after winning the NDP nomination in Jack Layton’s Toronto-Danforth riding, human rights lawyer Craig Scott said he was both “tired and exhilarated,” “daunted and honoured.”

Layton, the beloved NDP leader who died of cancer on Aug. 22, had held the riding since 2004 and garnered more than 60 per cent of the vote in the 2011 election. Prior to Layton, Toronto-Danforth was a Liberal stronghold for 16 years.

Scott said he has no plans to replace Layton, who led the NDP in its historic 2011 campaign. But, if elected, he hopes to follow Layton’s example as a committed local representative with broader national interests. The 49-year-old Osgoode Hall law professor and social justice activist also confessed he’s a little behind in his marking.

Can you describe what you were feeling Monday night?

I think the most exciting part was the energy in the room. There were somewhere around 800 people and there was a kind of “go-forward” energy and atmosphere that was bigger than the nomination itself.

Did you know Jack?

No, I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Jack. I was in rooms with him and inspired by him, but I didn’t have that privilege.

How does it feel to be taking over the nomination in his old riding?

It’s daunting and it’s an honour as well. People ask what it’s like to aspire to replace him and the first thing I say is that nobody can replace him — absolutely not. I think of it as following in his footsteps, not walking in his shoes. This riding has come to expect exceptional representation so expectations have to be high, but nobody can reach his level; he had become a very special Canadian.

Are you endorsing anyone for the party leadership?

No. I’m still undecided myself. I made my final decision to seek the nomination only after watching the first debate to see what kind of chemistry and intellectual energy there was amongst the leadership candidates. I came away extremely impressed with well over half the field, all of whom I could see becoming leader.

What do you think the party should be looking for in its next leader?

It’s obvious, but Quebec has to be taken extraordinarily seriously as the new stronghold that it has become. Quebec has to become central to how the NDP grows and the rest of Canada has to understand the social-democratic tradition in Quebec and see that connection in their own values. I think when that happens the NDP will actually have strength there and in the rest of Canada in a way that kind of bypasses a lot of the old, sterile debates around the relationship between Quebec and the rest of the country.

It also has to be somebody who has absolutely solid credentials on two things: One is a commitment to a rapid transformation to the green economy and somebody who is absolutely trustworthy when it comes to the core NDP foci in the past half-century — combatting serious disadvantage and marginalization in our society.

If you are elected MP, what will be your priorities?

I want to make sure I bring to Parliament the perspectives of the variety of communities and people of Toronto-Danforth. It’s diverse culturally and it also has serious income disparities and very different life experiences. It’s kind of a microcosm of what a national party needs to take seriously. So I’m hoping to create those kinds of national riding linkages.

What are you doing tomorrow?

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I’m meeting with folks to figure out next steps on campaigning. But I also have to finish my last little bit of marking for my first-term course. [Laughing] My students are probably saying, “What? Those marks were supposed to be in two days ago.”

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has until Feb. 26 to set a byelection date for Toronto-Danforth. The other parties have yet to nominate candidates. Layton’s successor as NDP leader will be decided at a March 24 convention in Toronto.