The winner is… both Bowman and Chipman, survey shows

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This article was published 05/03/2015 (3899 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was a disagreement between two popular Winnipeg figures, their differences of opinion and interpretation put forth through public posturing and pressure.

Now that the dust has somewhat settled on a downtown-development controversy, which civic leader — Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman or the head of True North Sports & Entertainment Mark Chipman — has come out ahead in the court of public opinion?

Well, it looks like both men have.

A recent telephone poll conducted by Mainstreet Technologies for the Free Press found 29 per cent of more than 800 respondents believe the rookie mayor is right in his position to question how a key piece of land near the MTS Centre was secured by Chipman for a $400-million downtown development project called True North Centre.

Twenty-five per cent of respondents sided with Chipman, with another 25 per cent unsure. Another 22 per cent indicated they didn’t agree with either man.

The controversy revolves around the True North proposal that would see two towers and a public square built on a Manitoba Public Insurance-owned surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St. and a third tower constructed on the CentreVenture-owned Carlton Inn site at 220 Carlton St.

As details of the project started to surface earlier this year, it was revealed Chipman was on the CentreVenture board at the same time his company made an offer to develop the site.

Chipman said he immediately recused himself from the board as it was making decisions on the deal in June 2014. He resigned from the board in July.

Bowman raised issues with the entire land and project bid process, questions that have brought tension to the once-glowing relationship between the mayor and Chipman. The latter held a news conference to address the implication of wrongdoing, and a visibly angry Chipman told media he regretted his decision to publicly support Bowman during the civic election campaign last year.

True North Sports & Entertainment has since pulled its offer to develop the project off the table — at least for the time being.

While Bowman earned a slight edge among respondents in terms of an overview of the controversy, Chipman scored a resounding victory in terms of what he is proposing. When asked if they wanted to see True North Centre built, 50 per cent of those polled said yes, with only 14 per cent giving the thumbs-down. Thirty-six per cent were unsure or needed more time to think about it.

Mainstreet Technologies is a national public research firm out of Toronto. A total of 824 people took part in the Feb. 26 poll, which held a margin of error of 3.41 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca