The Canadian Maple Leaf Flag was first raised on February 15, 1965, after efforts by many individuals over more than one hundred years culminated when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a Parliamentary Flag Committee in 1965 to research and recommend a unifying design for a national flag for Canada. The individual most responsible for nurturing the work of this committee and the subsequent parliamentary process was John Ross Matheson, Member of Parliament for Leeds and a citizen of Brockville, who is often referred to as the "Father of Our Flag." Matheson spent many hours researching and working on the flag project from his home on North Augusta Road and from his office on Parliament Hill.