Thomas McKay, Scottish Businessman And The Creation Of Ottawa

Patrice Dutil meets Alastair Sweeny to talk about the remarkable career of Thomas McKay, a Scottish immigrant to Canada in the 1820s who went on to build a remarkable business career in the Ottawa area. McKay was a mason, and a very good one at that. Using his skills to build projects in Quebec and then the locks on the Rideau Canal in Bytown, he emerged as a virtual “laird” in the area, founding a variety of businesses and creating new architecture, including Rideau Hall, today the residence of the Governor General of Canada. The discussion of McKay’s career includes his significant role in Scottish immigration in Canada and the politics of Upper Canada. Alastair Sweeny is the author of Thomas MacKay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa, published by the University of Ottawa University Press). This podcast was produced by Jessica Schmidt. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: https://bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.