A majority of Winnipeggers – 55 per cent – favour renaming Bishop Grandin Boulevard because of the Catholic bishop’s role as a key architect of the Indian residential school system in Western Canada.
These Probe Research findings follow the discovery of 215 children buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, and as Winnipeg city councillors consider a motion to rename the expressway through south Winnipeg.
Slightly more than one-quarter of Winnipeggers favour the compromise of keeping the name but educating Winnipeggers about Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin’s role in the creation of the residential school system. Only 17 per cent feel the expressway’s name should remain the same.
Support for renaming the road is strongest among women, younger adults, Core area residents and Indigenous peoples living in Winnipeg. However, men are twice as likely as women to favour keeping the name as is.
Residents of southeast Winnipeg, which is bisected by Bishop Grandin Boulevard, are less likely to favour renaming the road and more likely to favour keeping the name as long as there’s a public education campaign around Bishop Grandin’s role in residential schools.
About the Probe Research Omnibus
For more than two decades, Probe Research Inc. has undertaken quarterly omnibus surveys of random and representative samples of Manitoba adults. These scientific telephone surveys have provided strategic and proprietary insights to hundreds of public, private and not-for-profit clients on a range of social, cultural and public policy topics. The Probe Research Omnibus Survey is the province’s largest and most trusted general population survey.
Disclosure Statement
Probe Research is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and confirms that this research fully complies with all CRIC Standards including the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements. Learn more at: https://www.canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/por/
Methodology
Probe Research surveyed a random and representative sampling of 600 adults residing in Winnipeg between June 2nd and 11th, 2021.
With a sample of 600, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ± 4.0 percentage points of what they would have been if the entire adult population of Winnipeg had been surveyed. The margin of error is higher within each of the survey’s population sub-groups.
Modified random digit dialing, including both landline and wireless numbers, ensured all Winnipeg adults had an equal opportunity to participate in this Probe Research survey. A CATI-to-web approach was employed whereby a live-voice operator randomly recruited respondents by telephone, inviting them to complete the survey via a secure online questionnaire. In addition, 152 randomly recruited Probe Research panel members were included in this general population adult sampling.
Minor statistical weighting has been applied to this sample to ensure that age and gender characteristics properly reflect known attributes of the city’s population. All data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical analysis software.
