though relatively unknown during his lifetime, once news of scott's death made it to ontario he was regarded as a martyr by the english-speaking, protestant population. with opinions divided along ethnic lines during the century following scott's death, english speaking historians have depicted the execution of thomas scott as the murder of an innocent victim. his execution was used to explain louis riel's fall from federally recognized politics. it was held that riel could not be dealt with legitimately because he was seen as a murderer by ontario. additionally, the marginalization of métis peoples in canada was justified by the anglo-canadians' memory of a brutal murder dealt to one of their own (thomas scott).