Reed Scowen was born on June 13, 1931, in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

He was a prominent Montreal Liberal known as an outspoken defender of the rights of English Quebecers. He did his undergraduate studies in Lennoxville at Bishop's University. In 1956, he completed an MBA at Harvard University. He was President and General Manager of the Canadian paper company Perkins in Laval, Quebec. In 1972, after selling the company, he studied for a year at the London School of Economics. From 1974 to 1978 he worked for the Canadian federal government in Ottawa as Executive Director of the Price Control Program and the Task Force on Canadian Unity. He was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing the provincial riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from 1978 to 1987. He later acted as an economic adviser to former Premier Robert Bourassa, and as delegate general for Quebec in London, New York, and Washington.

He wrote two books on Quebec politics: “A Different Vision: The English in Quebec in the 1990s,” and “Time to Say Goodbye: Building a Better Canada without Quebec.”

He died on May 28, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario.

Originally incorporated in 1961 under the name “Invergordon Scottish Centre”, the first “Scottish Centre” of Montreal was primarily managed by the Invergordon Camp of the Sons of Scotland Benevolent Association. Over the next few years, members from other Sons of Scotland camps participated in the administration of the Centre and the insurance plans that it offered. Thus, the decision to change the name to “The Scottish Centre of Montreal” was proposed and accepted.

“Invergordon Scottish Centre” was legally changed to “Scottish Centre of Montreal” in 1971. Originally located at 1216 Stanley Street in Montreal, the Scottish Centre moved to 1610 Stephens Avenue in Verdun in the summer of 1989. From 1989 to its closure in January 2018, the Scottish Centre served as a meeting place for various camps of the Sons of Scotland Benevolent Association and served as a location for community functions.

William Scott was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia (New Glasgow) on June 23, 1881. Educated at Montreal High School and brought up in Westmount Quebec, William entered McGill University in September of 1897 at the age of 16. William graduated with a B.A in 1901, and completed McGill’s School of Medicine in 1905. Dr. Scott was Superintendent of St. John's, NB hospital from 1905-1906. In 1906, Dr. Scott worked at the Montreal General Hospital where he met Alfreda Lee “Freda” Jowsey. Born in Eardley Quebec, Freda was in nurse training when she met Dr. William Scott. Freda and William were soon married and decided to do missionary and medical work in China. The couple traveled across the US, to San Francisco, before leaving by boat to join the Canadian Presbyterian Church China Mission. Freda and William completed Missionary work in China from 1907-1912. Their daughter Dorothy Anne Scott was born in China in 1909 and their son Frederick Arthur Scott was born in Montreal in 1914. When back in Canada, Dr. Scott practiced in Notre-Dame-de-Grace (NDG) in Montreal between 1912 and 1917 serving the poor of the community. Tragically, William Scott died of a septic Infection November 25th, 1917.

W.T. Scott owned land in Hinchinbrooke, Quebec, which he sold to Joseph and Jacob Hall in 1818.

Scott was an English-born merchant and landowner in Quebec.