 A lawyer by training, Scott was admitted to the bar in 1848 and established a practice in Bytown (now Ottawa).Scott became a member of municipal council in 1851, was mayor of Bytown in 1852, and held a seat in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1857 to 1863.With Canadian Confederation, Scott won a seat in the Ontario legislature as a Liberal representing Ottawa from 1867 to 1871.