NDP pushes for investigation into sale of former PC HQ

The NDP wants Manitoba’s elections commissioner to investigate the Progressive Conservatives over the sale of the Tory party’s former headquarters in downtown Winnipeg.

In a complaint to commissioner Bill Bowles, the New Democrats said there would be a “clear violation” of the Election Financing Act if proceeds from the eventual sale of 23 Kennedy St., which is owned by a corporation, are transferred to the PCs.

“Despite this, (Tory Leader Obby) Khan has publicly stated that it is the Progressive Conservative Party’s intention to illegally receive the proceeds of this sale,” Evan Krosney, the NDP’s provincial secretary, wrote in the letter to Bowles on Friday.

Krosney asked Bowles to investigate Khan’s public comments. The complaint cited a CBC News report that quoted the PC leader as saying property owner Nocorp Investments Ltd. is a trust that intends to donate the sale proceeds to the Tories.

Manitoba’s election financing rules prohibit political contributions from anyone other than individuals, Krosney wrote in the letter, which was provided to the Free Press.

The PCs have not yet provided Bowles with a response to the complaint. A party spokesperson said the Tories only received a copy of the complaint Friday.

“We will review it and file a response with Elections Manitoba in due course,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

The former PC headquarters has been on the market for about two months, with an asking price of $800,000.

“The PCs have a history of corruption — they were fined for breaking the conflict of interest law just a few months ago,” Krosney said in a statement to the Free Press, referring to fines handed to former premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers, Cliff Cullen and Jeff Wharton, for pushing a proposed Sio Silica mining project in their final days in government in 2023.

“Manitobans deserve an answer from Khan — does he intend to play by the rules or will he break the law yet again?”

Wedged between a parking lot and a high-rise apartment block, 23 Kennedy St. is across from the legislative grounds, between Broadway and Assiniboine Avenue. The two-storey, 3,610-square-foot office space was built in 1912, originally as a residence.

The listing touts the property as a “prime opportunity” for redevelopment as multi-family housing.

The NDP’s complaint to Bowles included a letter from lawyer Greg Bartel, who said the PCs did not report the property as an asset in the party’s latest financial statement.

“Either, at best, the PCs have misreported its assets or, as we have suggested, it is intending to accept a prohibited contribution,” Bartel wrote.

The current limit on contributions to political parties is $5,000, he noted.

“A breach by a political party of contribution rules in the Act is a serious concern to all Manitobans,” Bartel wrote.

“In this case, it appears the PC are contemplating a significant breach, involving a large sum of money.”

The Tory party moved its headquarters to an office block at 5 Donald St. in River-Osborne last year.

The NDP and PCs have made multiple accusations of election rule violations recently.

In December, Bowles concluded a PC pamphlet, detailing Premier Wab Kinew’s past criminal convictions and comments by volunteers before the 2023 general election did not violate the Elections Act. The complaint was filed by someone in south Winnipeg’s Riel constituency.

The previous month, Bowles dismissed a PC complaint that accused NDP cabinet minister Ian Bushie of violating a ban on government advertising via comments he made in the legislature, in response to a Tory critic, during the 2024 Tuxedo byelection.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca