Sir Richard William Scott was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1825, which defines his upbringing as a Roman Catholic of Irish descent living in Canada during the early 19th century. Scott was educated as a lawyer throughout his early education in southern Ontario. More so, Scott became a popular figure in local politics by becoming the mayor of Bytown (aka. modern-day Ottawa). This political career led to an important role in the formation of the new federal Canadian government in the late 1860s, which allowed Scott to become a national figure during this era. This was an important part of the Irish influence on local Ottawa politics in that Scott became a powerful leader of the Irish Catholic community. In terms of Canadian-Irish history, Scott was certainly a powerful figure in a predominantly Anglo-Protestant and Francophile culture. This type of cooperative form of political negotiating made Scott an icon in the hopes of breaking down the Protestant/Catholic segregation policies in the Canadian educational system. The process of forming an integrated school, system in Ottawa became the primary focus of Scott’s career, since the Canadian-Irish were often in conflict with local…show more content… In this case, Scott’s national leadership played an important role in developing the new Canadian nation as a diverse ethnic and religious culture. Certainly, Scott’s role as an Irish Roman Catholic prevented him from achieving the goal of desegregating the schools, but he was an excellent negotiator and collaborator with Anglophile Protestants and Francophile during his tenure in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, Canadian Federation, and in the Canadian Federal government. These achievements define the powerful impact of Irish Catholic representation through the unique leadership of Sir Richard William
