Thomas Scott's Execution

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Louis Riel is one of the most controversial figures in Canadian history. He led two revolts, & was executed for treason in 1885. Riel was a member of the Métis ethnic group. The Métis were people of mixed European and Aboriginal ancestry who usually spoke the language and adhered to the religious faith of the white forefathers. Some of the Métis were English-speaking Protestants. The largest proportion of the Métis were, like Riel, French-speaking Catholics.

Riel’s 1st revolt, known as the Red River Rebellion was organized by Métis people in the Red River Colony in what is now southern Manitoba. The Red River Colony was administered by the Hudson’s Bay Company , a British charter company, until the 1860s. The Red River Colony was a small part of the much larger Prince Rupert’s Land. After the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, the British government and the HBC decided to turn the Red River Colony over to Canada. This was done without consulting the Métis people.

The Métis were upset over the impending change in administration. Tensions grew between the Francophone Catholic Métis and Anglo-Canadian Protestant settlers. The latter formed the Canadian Party, & reminded the Métis that they would soon be subordinate to the newer arrivals. When a group of Canadian government land surveyors arrived in the Red River Colony, a group of armed Métis confronted them and forced them to return home. The Métis, led by Riel, formed a provisional government, based at the former HBC headquarters of Fort Garry .

The Canadian government, led by Conservative Party Prime Minister John A. Macdonald was unable to respond quickly to the “rebellion” because there weren’t any rapid means of transportation. With no good roads or railways, the journey from Central Canada to the west took a long time, so troops could not be rapidly deployed. The Canadian government chose to negotiate with Riel and his provisional government.

Riel’s provisional government was vigorously opposed members of the Canadian Party in Red River. On a number of occasions they tried, unsuccessfully, to organize a revolt against the Métis provisional government Each time, they were captured by the Métis. Some of the Canadians escaped from jail, only to be recaptured. Thomas Scott was the most vocal, violent, and defiant of the prisoners. Scott was an Irish-born Protestant Orangeman who had immigrated to Ontario. Later he had migrated out west to the Red River Colony.

Riel seems to have originally planned to pardon all the prisoners, but lost patience with Scott. He ordered Scott’s execution, and the prisoner, according to Edmund Collins’ account, was shot by firing squad. News of Scott’s execution outraged English-speaking Canadians, especially those in Ontario, and there were calls for revenge. Scott came to be seen as a martyr in English Canada. Meanwhile Riel‘s provisional government and the Canadian government negotiated the peaceful turnover of Red River Colony to Canadian control. It was agreed that Red River would become the province of Manitoba, and Métis rights would be respected.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Macdonald sent a Canadian armed force to occupy Red River Colony. Many of these soldiers or militiamen were from Ontario, and harboured strong hostility towards Riel for the killing of their countryman, Scott. Friends convinced Riel to leave for his own safety as the Canadian forces arrived. Riel spent the next 15 years in exile in the USA.

Riel returned to Canada in 1885, at the request of some of his old Métis comrades who were upset with the Canadian government.