Grey County council rejected a motion to declare March 24 as Agnes MacPhail Day.
The notice of motion was brought by West Grey Mayor Kevin Eccles, who said that the county could do a better job of recognizing contributions that Grey County residents have made.
MacPhail was a resident of Grey County who became active in local politics in the early 1900s, before becoming the first woman elected to the Canadian legislature in 1921.
Eccles said this was a way to honour that legacy.
"I thought this would make that recognition of the contributions that Grey County residents have made," he said. "This is a small ask and a small point to be able to put that forward that we don't forget how important this individual was in creating the country that we know and love. If we let that pass, I think it is bad and it's behooven on us to not let that pass so we know where we came from, so we can have a vision of where we need to continue on."
Deputy Warden Brian Milne said he had nothing against MacPhail, but didn't want to go against a policy that prevents the County from making proclamations.
"Who is going to make the proclamation? Who is eligible for a proclamation, providing we go ahead and do this, because there's going to be more," he said. "I do understand that there's a large urban city to the south of us where the Mayor, just by rote proclaims 20 to 25 proclamations a day. How much time does that take up? How many resources does that chew up? Because if you're going to do it for one, you've got to do it for all."
The policy, which was enacted in 1995, says Grey County will not declare or publish proclamations. Council had an opportunity to change that policy in 2024 and opted against doing so.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy said he didn't think the motion opened up a so-called slippery slope.
"There's nothing in this motion that refers to other proclamations for others going forward," he said. "There's only in this motion, recognizing Agnes MacPhail Day on March 24. This council can consider any future considerations if other names do come up, but right now we are considering one... this is a woman that made a huge difference and broke a lot of barriers... I can't think of any (Grey County heroes) that are as big for the county as a whole as this one, so I'll be supporting it."
The motion was still defeated.