Steinbach, Manitoba
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Steinbach () is the third-largest city in the province of
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, Canada, and with a population of 17,806, the largest community in the
Eastman region Eastern Manitoba, or the Eastman Region (), is an informal geographic List of regions of Manitoba, region of the Canada, Canadian Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Manitoba. It is bounded on the north by the Winnipeg River and Lake W ...
. The city, located about southeast of the provincial capital of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, is bordered by the
Rural Municipality of Hanover The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a rural municipality (RM) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, located southeast of Winnipeg in Division No. 2. It is Manitoba's most populous rural municipality and fourth-most populous municipality overall ...
to the north, west, and south, and the
Rural Municipality of La Broquerie La Broquerie () is a rural municipality in the province of southern Manitoba, located just southeast of the city of Steinbach. The municipality includes the local urban district of La Broquerie to the north, and the unincorporated communit ...
to the east. Steinbach was first settled by
Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
-speaking
Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
from
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in 1874, whose descendants continue to have a significant presence in the city today. Steinbach is found on the eastern edge of the
Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
, while Sandilands Provincial Forest is a short distance east of the city. Steinbach's economy has traditionally been focused around
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
; however, as the regional
economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
hub of southeastern Manitoba, Steinbach now has a trading area
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of about 50,000 people and significant employment in the
financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...
industry, automobile sales,
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
, retail, and manufacturing. The city had a population growth of 11.1% between 2016 and 2021 and has gained national recognition as an immigration destination of Canada and a model for immigrant integration in the country.


Etymology

Steinbach means "Stony Brook" in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
. Steinbach's stony brook was drained sometime after settlement. Low German-Mennonites named the town Steinbach in 1874, after a village also called Steinbach in Borosenko colony, Ukraine.


History


Treaty 1 and the East Reserve

After the
Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
and
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
First Nations left the region in the 1820s, the Anishinabe hunted in and moved seasonally through the area on their way to the burial grounds in the Whiteshell. A bison trail ran alongside the Steinbach Creek on the far eastern edge of the Canadian prairies, a trail that was used by First Nations people for a number of years after settlement. In 1871, the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland and Anishinabe people signed Treaty 1, after which time the Canadian government began recruiting European farmers to the region, establishing the English and Scottish settlement of Clear Springs in 1872, just north of the present day location of Steinbach, and partially contained within the modern city limits. At the time of English and Scottish settlement, the nearest settled area was 17 km north in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, a
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
village founded 17 years earlier in 1856. In 1873, the Canadian government sent William Hespeler to recruit Mennonites to move to the area. By the 1870s, some
Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
-speaking Mennonites in Ukraine became dissatisfied with increasing
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
and the removal of their military exemption and were persuaded by Hespeler to investigate Manitoba as a possibility for relocation. These Mennonite communities were not ethnically Russian, but had Dutch ancestry dating back to 16th century
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, after which time they lived in
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
for two centuries and then the Russian Empire where they became known as Russian Mennonites, a
misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...
given that they were ethnically Dutch. In 1873, the Mennonites sent delegates to North America to investigate and negotiate terms of immigration. After touring a number of locations in North America, many of the delegates decided to move their people to
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, however, the more conservative groups were persuaded to settle in the new Canadian province of Manitoba, because the Canadian government was more generous in their guarantees of religious freedom. In 1873, a Privilegium was signed between the Mennonite delegates and the Canadian government, and a year later Mennonites started to arrive in the region. The document guaranteed, among other things, military exemption, freedom of religion, private schools, and land, known as the
East Reserve The East Reserve was a block settlement in Eastman Region, Eastern Manitoba initially set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of ...
. In the year following the signing of the Privilegium, Mennonites from the Bergthaler and Kleine Gemeinde groups immigrated to Manitoba, aided by Ontario Mennonite Jacob Yost Shantz, and founded dozens of villages in the East Reserve.


Early history (1874–1909)

Steinbach's original 18 Mennonite settler families were almost entirely of the new Kleine Gemeinde sect of Mennonites, a small conservative minority known for being gifted farmers. They left the Borosenko colony (a newly-formed offshoot of the larger
Molotschna Molotschna Colony or Molochna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today, the central village, known as Molochansk, has a population less than 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna R ...
(or Milk River) colony) in Ukraine and arrived in Canada late in the summer of 1874. Aided by their
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
neighbours, the families disembarked on the far west side of the reserve at the forks of the Rat and Red Rivers, near present-day Niverville. As they moved east across the reserve, they found that much of the better land in the reserve had already been settled a few months earlier by the Bergthaler and earlier Kleine Gemeinde families. The earlier settlers had come to realize the area suffered from excessive moisture and settled upon much of the higher lands and gravel ridges. Steinbach's settlers chose the best land that was available to them, which was in the very northeast corner of the East Reserve. The 20 homesteads were laid out on the northeast side of present-day Main Street along the creek, where they founded the village of Steinbach, taking the name "Steinbach" from the village where they lived in Borosenko. Contrary to the preferences of the Canadian government, the early settlers of Steinbach, like other Mennonite villages, organized the village into a Strassendorf, or street village, with each family occupying a long narrow strip known as a ''Wirtschaft''. In the first year they built temporary shelters known as semlin, before building more permanent
housebarn A housebarn (also house-barn or house barn) is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn under the same roof. Most types of housebarn also have room for livestock quarters. If the living quarters are only combined with a byre, wher ...
s. Most of the settlers were farmers, but in a somewhat urban setting, and lived, to some degree, communally, and shared a common pasture at the end of the village. They started a school in the first year, and in the following year of 1875 built a school and teacherage. Steinbach's Main Street was hacked out of thick poplar bush along the creek, where a
bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...
trail ran, a trail that was still used by Indigenous people during Steinbach's early years. In June 1875, Steinbach's spiritual leader Rev. Jakob Barkman, who had led the Kleine Gemeinde to Canada, drowned in the Red River, along with Jakob K. Friesen on a trip to Winnipeg for supplies. This left the community without religious leadership for some time. After a plague of
grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...
destroyed the crops in 1876, residents of Steinbach met in Blumenort to discuss the possibility of migrating to
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
or
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
. However, 60-year-old matriarch Elizabeth Rempel Reimer persuaded the group to stay in Steinbach, a stirring and historically significant speech which signified the important role of women in the community and resulted in Steinbach's continued survival as a community, unlike dozens of other East Reserve villages which have since disappeared. In 1877, Lord Dufferin toured Manitoba's new Mennonite settlements and stopped just west of Steinbach where he could see "half a dozen villages" in the distance. A crowd of 1000 people greeted his arrival. That same year, the first windmill in the town was built by Abraham S. Friesen. The death of Rev. Barkman left Steinbach without religious leadership for a number of years, creating a vacuum that made the villagers receptive to John Holdeman when he visited in 1881. After Holdeman's visit, many locals from the Kleine Gemeinde joined his new church, Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. This was the first of many
schisms A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
and revivals in Steinbach and eventually the town would be known for having dozens of churches, many of them different variations of Mennonite, a dynamic that has shaped the city's character. After a period of eight years, in 1882, Mayor Gerhard Giesbrecht said that the village had grown to 28 families with a population of 128. Various epidemics swept the area in the late 1800s, including
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
,
whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...
, and
diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...
. In the spring of 1884 alone, more than seventy people died, mostly children. Another whooping cough epidemic took place in 1900. By 1900, the settlers had drained the swamps and cleared the land making it more suitable for the farming of wheat, barley, oats and potatoes. In the 1901 census, Steinbach had a population of 366, and almost the entire population still spoke Plautdietsch, with only a few reporting a knowledge of English.


End of the Strassendorf (1910–1945)

In 1910, the street village
linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...
, or Strassendorf (''Straßendorf'' in German) for the community ended. Prior to this time, the settlers of Steinbach lived in long narrow strips, called ''Wirtschaft'' (plural: ''Wirtschaften''), along the Steinbach Creek. Following the lead of the neighbouring Mennonite village of Blumenort, who had abandoned their Strassendorf system a year earlier, the village of Steinbach was surveyed and land was redistributed with individual titles to open-field properties. Those who were given inferior land were financially compensated by the others. Although a communal pasture for cattle was maintained for some decades after this, the end of the linear settlement meant the end of the traditional communal lifestyle of the Mennonites in this area, but also opened the area up to greater entrepreneurial enterprise. The mayor, or schulz, of Steinbach at this time was Johan G. Barkman, Steinbach's longest serving schulz, who held that position for twenty-five years, including overseeing such significant events as the end of the Strassendorf. In 1911, the Kleine Gemeinde church, who had met in the village school up until this point, constructed a building on the south end of the village. In 1912, J.R. Friesen opened a Ford auto dealership in town, which was the first Ford dealership in Western Canada. At the time, Friesen was excommunicated from the Kleine Gemeinde for adopting the modern technology, but within a few years, many Steinbachers accepted the automobile as an acceptable mode of transportation. By this time, Steinbach had a third Mennonite church, the Bruderthaler, who, unlike the Kleine Gemeinde and Holdeman Mennonites, taught that being successful in business was not a sin and, in fact, was to be encouraged. The new theology moved Steinbach from a more traditional and agriculturally-based economy to one that emphasized business and industry. Entrepreneurs took advantage of the business opportunities at the time and several small businesses sprang up. Many other important and large businesses developed as well, helping to establish Steinbach as a regional service centre for the area. By 1915, Steinbach had grown to a population of 463 and continued to attract immigrants from Europe. Many of the new immigrants were Bergthaler Mennonites, but Steinbach also was the destination for new German and Lutheran settlers, as well as some British families who had previously settled in the Clearspring Settlement slightly to the north. Steinbach's first bank, the Royal Bank, opened in 1915. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, most Steinbach Mennonites were given an exemption from military service, as promised in the Privilegium they had agreed to upon immigration in the 1870s. Mistakenly considered "ethnic Germans", even though they were actually primarily of Dutch ancestry, the Mennonites were caught up in the anti-German sentiment of the time and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Prime Minister
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...
banned Mennonites from Steinbach and other areas from voting in 1917. A year later, in 1918, as soldiers returned to North America,
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
struck the village, killing many. Mennonites in the region were particularly affected by the outbreak, dying at a rate nearly twice that of other ethnic groups. After the First World War, Borden banned Mennonites and other pacifists from immigrating to Canada. The ban lasted for three years, from 1919 to 1922, when the new Liberal government lifted the ban. At the same time, there was the out-migration of the more conservative Mennonites, who left the area for
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, after the Canadian government required them to learn English and attend public schools, issues which seemed to be in violation of the Privilegium signed in 1873. In 1920, the village of Steinbach was formed into an "Unincorporated Village District" of the
Rural Municipality of Hanover The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a rural municipality (RM) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, located southeast of Winnipeg in Division No. 2. It is Manitoba's most populous rural municipality and fourth-most populous municipality overall ...
. After the Mennonite immigration ban was lifted in 1922 by Liberal Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
, a second wave of Mennonite immigration occurred due to the Russian Revolution, and many of the "Russlander" Mennonites took over farms and land left unoccupied by the Mennonites leaving for Latin America. During the 1920s, thousands of Mennonite refugees fled the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, many of them arriving in the Steinbach area. Moscow Road, which had been pejoratively named to refer to the Russlander Mennonites who lived there, was later renamed McKenzie Avenue after the Prime Minister who had allowed them to come to Canada as refugees. In 1931, local man Abraham Loewen founded the Loewen Funeral Chapel, the first funeral home in southeastern Manitoba, which decades later was taken over by his son Ray Loewen, who built the company into the Loewen Funeral Group, before its eventual downfall as depicted in the 2023 film ''The Burial''. In 1941, the Steinbach Credit Union opened, partially in response to the difficulty in obtaining loans from the larger banks. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, most Steinbachers who were eligible for the draft served in alternative service as
conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...
, though some also served in the active military. After the war, a third major wave of immigration boosted Steinbach's population, with thousands of Mennonites again fleeing Europe.


Incorporation as a town (1946–1996)

Steinbach was incorporated as a town on 31 December 1946, with the Main Street being paved the following year. The new town elected Klaas Barkman as mayor who, along with councillor and auto-dealer A.D. Penner, had been instrumental in Steinbach's incorporation. As the regional service centre for the area, Steinbach developed manufacturing, trucking, and retailing, particularly in automobile sales. Steinbach became known regionally as the "Automobile City", a name coined by A.D. Penner. From the 1940s to the 1960s, T.G. Smith, was a local bank manager who organized many of Steinbach's first recreational activities, which the Mennonite population had been reluctant to adopt on their own. In 1958, Leonard Barkman was elected mayor and served until 1970. Barkman, a member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, also served as M.L.A. while mayor of Steinbach, a once common practice that is no longer permitted in Manitoba. Barkman was the first Mennonite from the area, who had previously eschewed this level of political involvement, to join the Manitoba Legislature. During the 1950s and 1960s, Steinbach was home to many Christian revival meetings, including frequent visits by George Brunk, Ben D. Reimer and others. These meetings were held in a quonset just off of Main Street called The Tabernacle. The new more
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
theology transformed the doctrine and practices of many of the local Mennonite churches and contributed to their assimilation. Many local churches adopted evangelical theology or merged it with their traditional
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
theology, and some dropped the Mennonite label altogether. In 1960, the Kleine Gemeinde church building, which by then was called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, burned to the ground. The same year, the last traditional Mennonite
housebarn A housebarn (also house-barn or house barn) is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn under the same roof. Most types of housebarn also have room for livestock quarters. If the living quarters are only combined with a byre, wher ...
in Steinbach was torn down by A.D. Penner. Partially in response to the destruction of heritage buildings in the area, such as the historic housebarn destroyed by A.D. Penner, residents in the 1960s saw the need to preserve and remember the Mennonite history of the region. In 1967, the Mennonite Heritage Village museum in Steinbach was opened. In 1966, infamous gold thief Ken Leishman escaped from Headingly Jail and stole an airplane from Steinbach, solidifying his nickname as the "Flying Bandit". In 1970, the year of Manitoba's centennial, Steinbach was visited by Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
. A crowd of 10,000 waited along the streets of Steinbach as the royals visited, coming from the east along Highway 52 after their visit to La Brouqerie. '' The Carillon'' described the visit saying, "it was the most memorable and exciting moment in the history of the Southeast. For the first time since the earliest European settlers arrived in the 1860s and 1870s, a member of the British royal family paid a personal visit to the communities of La Broquerie, Steinbach, Sarto, Grunthal and St. Pierre. For these communities and their people the visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles on the eve of Manitoba's 100th birthday highlighted a century of economic and cultural development." In 1972,
Jake Epp Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadians, Canadian executive and former politician. Life and career Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering ...
, a former local high school teacher, was elected Member of Parliament in the region, the first Mennonite in the area to do so. Epp was also the first Mennonite to serve as a federal cabinet minister and was MP until 1993. In May 1980, Steinbach's first shopping mall, Clearspring Centre, opened on the north end of the community. The mall was named after the historic English and Scottish settlement in the area. In fall of 1982, Steinbach drew considerable attention after the school board cancelled a scheduled rock concert in the local high school by Queen City Kids. Hundreds of students staged a protest as a result of the cancellation. The incident was alluded to years later in the work of novelist Miriam Toews. After the fall of the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
in 1989, Aussiedler Mennonites, who had remained in the Soviet Union (particularly
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
) throughout much of the 20th century, or who had resettled in Germany during the 1970s, began to immigrate to the area and continued to do so through the 1990s and early 2000s. Some of these people had converted to the Baptist church during the decades in the Soviet Union. Over all, Steinbach's growth slowed somewhat during the 1980s and early 1990s in comparison to the rate of growth in decades before or since.Manitoba – City Population – Cities, Towns & Provinces – Statistics & Map
/ref> In 1996, Les Magnusson was elected mayor of Steinbach, the first non- ethnic Mennonite to hold that position. Magnusson was a vocal opponent of attempts in Steinbach to allow liquor sales.


Contemporary era (1997–present)

With Les Magnusson as mayor, Steinbach was incorporated as a city on 10 October 1997. In 2000, the
windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
at the Mennonite Heritage Village, a recognized symbol of the city, was destroyed by arsonists. It was rebuilt less than a year later with the assistance of Dutch millwrights. Steinbach attracted prominent attention in 2004 when Mennonite author Miriam Toews, who was born and grew up in Steinbach, published her novel '' A Complicated Kindness''. The book became a bestseller, exploring a fictionalized town modelled after Steinbach. It won the 2004 Governor General's Award for Fiction, and was selected as the 2006 book for
Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...
, the first book by a female writer to be chosen. Steinbach continued to grow during Magnusson's tenure and, after the election of Chris Goertzen as mayor in 2006, became one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. In 2011, Steinbach was officially announced as Manitoba's third-largest city, with the release of the population data from the
2011 Canadian Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short form ...
. The growth was attributed to immigration from such countries as Germany, Russia, and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Steinbach gained national recognition from such newspapers as ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', which described the city as an immigration "hotbed" of Canada and a model for immigrant integration. During March 2013, the city gained national attention when several community members, such as the Southland Community Church and Steinbach Christian High School expressed opposition to provincial Bill 18, an anti-bullying bill that would require the accommodation of gay-straight alliance groups in schools, including faith-based private schools. On 13 September 2013, Bill 18 passed without amendments. Partially in response to this issue, the city's first Steinbach Pride parade was held in 2016. While initially expecting about 200 people, approximately 3,000 people attended the event. This was brought about in part by the fact that not a single elected official from the area attended or endorsed the event. Ongoing rapid growth meant that the city needed more land and space in order to sustain itself. This led the city to negotiate an annexation of from the Rural Municipality of Hanover in 2015, the first major annexation for the city since 1979. Steinbach was affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
beginning in August 2020, with the virus affecting community members, several businesses, and eventually an outbreak at Bethesda Place, the personal care home at Bethesda Regional Health Centre. By November 2020, Steinbach briefly had the highest per capita rate of Covid infections in Canada. The Bethesda Regional Health Centre was reportedly overwhelmed and out of beds on November 13, 2020, with patients having to be triaged in their cars. Beginning in the 2020s, Steinbach became significantly more multicultural with 21% of the population being immigrants, many from The Philippines,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, and
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
.


Liquor and cannabis licence referendums

Despite being prohibited by local churches, Steinbach had alcohol sales, including beverage rooms, throughout the early 20th century. In 1950, however, Steinbach citizens voted to prohibit all liquor sales in the community, although a drinking establishment on Main Street called The Tourist Hotel was allowed to remain, until it closed in 1973. Since the 1970s, Steinbach has had seven separate referendums on whether liquor sales should be allowed within the confines of the city, all of which failed until a 2003
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
when Steinbach residents narrowly voted to allow limited liquor sales in the city, despite opposition from then mayor Les Magnusson. The 2003 referendum, however, passed only a dining room licence, permitting alcohol to be sold and served only with sales of food. In 2007, the issue of serving alcohol in restaurant lounges was defeated by only nine votes, while the sale of alcohol at sports facilities such as the Steinbach Fly-In Golf Course was approved. In February 2008, Steinbach Council voted in favour of opening a liquor store in the city. Eventually, the first Liquor Mart in Steinbach opened in March 2009, on PTH 12 North, operated by the
Manitoba Liquor Control Commission The Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) was a Crown corporation mandated with regulating, distributing, and selling beverage alcohol in the Canadian province of Manitoba. In 2014, the Manitoba government merged MLCC with the Manitoba L ...
. The most recent public vote was held in October 2011.Steinbach votes on alcohol – again – Prohibition sparked seven referendums
''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
In this referendum, voters agreed to accept, by a large margin, the following three licences: beverage rooms, cocktail lounges, and private club licences. In 2018, after the Canadian government legalized
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
, Steinbach residents voted to deny the licensing of retail cannabis stores in the city.


Geography

Steinbach is located on the eastern edge of the
Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
, and is also located directly east of the
Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...
. The flat land in Steinbach was originally a thick patch of poplar trees. The land was flat and very swampy, with the last of the swamps finally drained in 1900, which made the soil more arable and suitable for agriculture. Steinbach's main geographic feature is the Steinbach Creek, which is now mostly dry, still runs along Elmdale Street. Due to higher levels of precipitation received than in the areas of western Manitoba, the natural prairie near Steinbach is defined as
tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...
. Some of this original prairie can still be viewed at the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve south of the city near Vita. The areas to the west and north of Steinbach are defined as flat tallgrass prairie, and part of the Lake Manitoba Plain. The areas south and west of the city progress steadily into treed
aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...
, eventually growing into Sandilands Provincial Forest and the large
boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...
region extending east and north of the city. Steinbach is close to many
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
lakes, such as those located in
Whiteshell Provincial Park Whiteshell Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeast Manitoba, approximately east of the city of Winnipeg. The park is considered to be a IUCN protected area categories#Category II — National Park, Class II protected area under the IU ...
and the
Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (; ) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,552 islands and of shoreline. It is fed by t ...
in
Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...
.
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
( the Earth's 11th largest freshwater lake) is located north of the city. Although no rivers flow through Steinbach, the city is sandwiched by the
Seine River The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
to the north and the Rat River to the south. Both are tributaries of the Red River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg. Under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
Steinbach has a warm summer continental climate ( Dfb). The highest ever recorded temperature in Steinbach was on August 10, 1988, while the lowest ever recorded temperature was on February 2, 1996. The warmest month on average is July, while the coldest month on average is January. The average annual precipitation in Steinbach is , with June being the month with highest average precipitation.


Economy

As the economic centre of Southeastern Manitoba, service/retail industries employ the majority of the working population. Large manufacturing plants, especially those operated by Barkman, Bausch and
Loewen Windows Loewen is a Canadian millwork manufacturer of wood window and door systems for residential and light commercial use. The company uses Douglas Fir and Mahogany for its products. Loewen targets the high-end market, and, as of late 2019, has a n ...
(which is also headquartered in Steinbach), create a significant number of jobs. Since the 1950s, Steinbach has been known as a centre for automobile sales, marketing itself as the "Automobile City". Steinbach has a diversity of jobs and industries within the community. Its rapid growth rate, combined with the lowest taxes in the province by
mill rate A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net we ...
, has made the community an increasingly popular place for both workers and employers. This combination has helped many different mid-sized and large-sized businesses in manufacturing, transportation,
agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
,
pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...
, retail, and financial services such as the Steinbach Credit Union, to grow with the city. As a result, the city of Steinbach now has the third-highest assessment value among cities in the province, trailing only Brandon and Winnipeg. Agriculture, the traditional industry in the region, continues to play a significant role in Steinbach's economy as well. The agricultural industry in the area is notable for many of the large commercial pig and
poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...
operations. Aside from intensive pig and chicken barns there are numerous small,
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
, dairy farms that dot the area. Crops grown on the fertile farmland surrounding Steinbach primarily include
canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...
,
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
,
alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...
, as well as
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
,
soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...
,
oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...
, and
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
. Originally known as the Board of Trade, the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has existed since the 1920s. The board changed its name to the Chamber of Commerce in 1954. For several decades, the chamber, including the local auto dealers, used the slogan "It's Worth the Trip," to promote business in the area.


Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Steinbach had a population of 17,806 living in 6,836 of its 7,092 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 16,022. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. This places Steinbach as the third largest city in Manitoba. The average age of people in Steinbach is 37.8, below the provincial average of 39.2, while 52% of the population are female and 48% are male. A total of 30% of Steinbach residents claim German as their mother tongue, which includes both
High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...
and
Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
, while nearly 80% of those with a second language claim knowledge of a Germanic language. As a whole, 39% of residents claim some mother tongue other than the official languages of French and English. Steinbach has an immigrant population of 21.39% or about 2,890 people, which is slightly above the provincial average of 18.33%. The median after-tax household income in 2020 for Steinbach was $64,000, which is below the Manitoba provincial average of $69,000.


Ethnicity

Approximately twenty-four per cent of Steinbach residents claim German ancestry, though this may include those from Germany itself or of Mennonite background, which would more accurately be described as Dutch. In the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...
, the first to include "Mennonite" as an ethnic designation, nearly 20 per cent of the community reported Mennonite
ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
, although a significantly higher number would have Mennonite
ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...
.


Religion

Census data from 2011 shows that 88.73% of Steinbach residents report a religious affiliation, which is above the provincial average of 73.51%. Of those with a religious affiliation, 74.58% are
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, and 12.44% are
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Less than 1% belonged to either
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
,
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
or
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
combined. In the total population surveyed, 11.27% claim no religious affiliation. Steinbach is the headquarters of both the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, formerly known as the Kleine Gemeinde, and the Christian Mennonite Conference, formerly known as Chortitzer Mennonite Conference. The city has among the most churches per capita of any city in Canada, at one for every 500 people. Steinbach is home to at least 22 churches and while many of the smaller churches are Mennonite, the majority of Steinbach's current population no longer attend a Mennonite church, and the largest churches in the city, such as the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church, Southland Community Church, and Crossview Church, are either non-denominational or evangelical and are not part of
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
denominations. The city also has Roman Catholic, United, and Lutheran congregations and a growing Muslim community.


Government


Civic government

Steinbach is represented by six councillors and a mayor. The city is a single-tier municipality, governed by a mayor-council system, the mayor and council are elected every four years. The current mayor is Earl Funk. Prior to incorporation as a town in 1946, Steinbach was part of the
East Reserve The East Reserve was a block settlement in Eastman Region, Eastern Manitoba initially set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of ...
and later
Rural Municipality of Hanover The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a rural municipality (RM) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, located southeast of Winnipeg in Division No. 2. It is Manitoba's most populous rural municipality and fourth-most populous municipality overall ...
. The entire area was led by an Oberschulz, while the village of Steinbach was governed by a Schulz (mayor) and Schultebott (council). Steinbach's first schulz was Johann Reimer, while Steinbach's longest-serving schulz was Johan G. Barkman (son of Rev. Jakob Barkman), who served as schulz for 25 years.


Federal and provincial representation

Currently, the city is represented federally by the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
and provincially by the
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PC; ) is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, following a defeat in the 2023 provincial election. Hist ...
. The city and surrounding area comprise the provincial riding of Steinbach, which has been represented in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly by MLA
Kelvin Goertzen Kelvin Goertzen (born June 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd premier of Manitoba from September to November, 2021. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, he is a member of the Legislative Assembly o ...
since 2003. In federal politics, the city is part of the Provencher riding, which has been represented by MP Ted Falk since 2013.


Sister city

In 2018, Steinbach became a
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
with
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, which is near where all of Steinbach's pioneering families immigrated from in the 1870s.


Infrastructure and public services


Access

Steinbach is unusual in that there are no railways or rivers passing through town, so transportation to and from Steinbach has always been by road. The city is located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, in a direct line. There are two principal highways serving the city, Provincial Trunk Highways (PTH) 12 and 52, which intersect at downtown Steinbach. Travelers coming from Winnipeg can take the
Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
( PTH 1) east for 40 kilometers, turning south at PTH 12 and continuing for 20 kilometers. This entire route consists of four-lane limited-access highways. Alternatively, travelers can also take PTH 59 south from Winnipeg and then take PTH 52 east to Steinbach. PTH 12 south from Steinbach is single-lane and ends at the American border at Sprague. Steinbach is situated on an alternate route between Winnipeg and
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
which is named MOM's Way.


Airports

The City of Steinbach owns and maintains Steinbach Airport, a federally registered
aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...
located north of the city. The runway is and has an asphalt surface. The runway is serviced with lighting and a beacon for night-time use. Fuel and servicing are available on site and are provided through the Steinbach Flying Club. The airport also features aircraft tie-downs, a heated lounge building and restroom facilities. Additionally, Harv's Air Service operates Steinbach (South) Airport, a private aerodrome south of the city. The main runway is and has an asphalt and turf surface. An additional runway measuring intersects the main runway to the north.


Health

Health for the city and surrounding area is governed by Southern Health-Santé Sud. Acute care and emergency services are provided by the Bethesda Regional Health Centre.


Utilities

The water supply for Steinbach comes from three wells drilled into a limestone aquifer in K.R. Barkman Park and two wells were also recently established by Park Road West and Keating Road. It is then sent to a water treatment plant that was upgraded in 2006. Treated water storage is located in a tall elevated water tower that was built in 1972 and an additional underground water storage unit in 1999; combined they provide the community with of treated water. A new secondary water treatment plant was constructed in 2019 at a cost of $11.3 million to meeting the growing city's demand for water. As of 2019, it was the city's largest infrastructure project in its history.


Education

Steinbach is part of the Hanover School Division, which is one of the 37 school divisions in Manitoba. This is also the largest school division outside of the city of Winnipeg. The school system in Manitoba is dictated by the province through the Manitoba Public Schools Act. Public schools follow a provincially mandated curriculum in either French or English. The schools in Steinbach consist of three Early Years Elementary Schools: Woodlawn, Southwood and Elmdale which provide education from
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
through Grade 4. Grades 5 through 8 are currently provided by two newly formed Middle Schools: Stonybrook Middle School (formerly Steinbach Junior High School) and Clearspring Middle School (established 2012). Steinbach Regional Secondary School is a large public high school providing Grades 9 through 12 education for Steinbach and the surrounding region; it is the second largest school in Manitoba. Steinbach Christian School, a private school, offers all grades (Kindergarten – Grade 12). Steinbach is home to the evangelical
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
college Steinbach Bible College, which shares a campus with Steinbach Christian School. It also has a post-secondary learning campus called Eastman Education Centre, which offers courses from Red River College,
University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...
, Assiniboine Community College and Providence University College.


Arts and culture


Cuisine

Regional cuisine unique to Steinbach includes various Mennonite dishes such as vereniki, farmer sausage, sunflower seeds,
yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...
and roll kuchen. Mennonite homes frequently serve a light lunch on Sundays called ''faspa'' consisting of deli meats, cheese curds, pickles, buns, and dessert such as plautz. These items can be found at restaurants that specialize in Mennonite food, such as MJ's Kafe and the Livery Barn Restaurant (at the Mennonite Heritage Village), as well as in local homes, community and church events, and on the menu of many other local restaurants. In 2021, the Public Brewhouse and Gallery opened on Main Street in Steinbach, the first
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
to open in the former dry community, and the first privately run art gallery in the southeast.


Festivals

The Mennonite Heritage Village's Pioneer Days festival, and the accompanying parade, has existed each August since the 1970s. Steinbach's 'Summer in the City' festival is held on Main Street each June. The annual Steinbach Pride event has been held each summer since 2016.


Historical sites

The Johann G. Barkman Heritage Walkway, stretching along Elmdale Drive, is named after an early long-time mayor, and features plaques and other historic markers documenting the life of the early Steinbach street village along the, now dry, Steinbach Creek. The city also features a self-guided Heritage Walking tour in the downtown area, which highlights sites along the Heritage Walkway and other historic buildings and locations such as the Pioneer Cemetery. In 2024, a historic plaque was placed in front of author Miriam Toews's former Steinbach home.


Jake Epp Library

Steinbach's first public library opened in 1973. Mary Barkman initiated the plan in 1968 and
Jake Epp Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadians, Canadian executive and former politician. Life and career Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering ...
, former MP of Provencher, appointed the very first Library Board in 1973. The library initially was located in the former Kornelsen School, which is now the Steinbach Arts Council building. In 1997, the library moved into its own newly constructed building on historic Elmdale Street and was renamed the Jake Epp Library. After his death in 1998, the library revealed a plaque and reading garden honouring former local teacher Melvin Toews, father of author Miriam Toews and subject of her book ''Swing Low: A Life''. Toews, along with Barkman, had been instrumental in founding the library in the 1970s. A major library expansion was completed in 2012.


Literature

Steinbach is known for having a significant place in the world of Mennonite literature. Arnold Dyck was the editor of the German-language ''Steinbach Post'' in the early 20th century and the first writer to use
Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
as a written language. In the 1970s and 80s came the work of poet Patrick Friesen, author of ''The Shunning'' and many other works, novelist and literary critic Al Reimer, author of ''My Harp is Turned to Mourning'' and the Kleindarp stories, and Roy Vogt, founder of the ''Mennonite Mirror'' and the Mennonite Literary Society. Beginning in the 1990s, Steinbach's most well-known author Miriam Toews has written numerous award-winning and bestselling novels, some of which are set in Steinbach. Her non-fiction book ''Swing Low: A Life'' is set in Steinbach, while her bestselling novels '' A Complicated Kindness'' and '' All My Puny Sorrows'', as well as the film adaptation of the book, are set in the fictional East Village, widely regarded to be based on her hometown. ''Fight Night'', inspired by Toews's mother Elvira, also alludes to Steinbach. In 2016, Steinbach writer Andrew Unger started ''The Unger Review'' (formerly The Daily Bonnet), a website that publishes satirical Mennonite news stories, and published the novel '' Once Removed'' in 2020, which draws on fictional elements of Steinbach. Steinbach has also been home to novelist Byron Rempel, memoirist Lynette Loeppky, poets Lynnette D'anna, Luann Hiebert, and Audrey Poetker, as well as historians Royden Loewen and Delbert Plett, among others. In 2024, writer Andrew Unger initiated a plan to have a historic plaque placed in front of Miriam Toews's teenage home in Steinbach. It was unveiled in fall of that year.


Mennonite Heritage Village

Opening in 1967, and undergoing numerous expansions since then, the Mennonite Heritage Village is Steinbach's foremost cultural facility and tourist attraction. It provides a glimpse at the life of Mennonite settlers through interactive displays in its year-round indoor gallery and a reconstructed street village, open seasonally. Its Dutch
windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
, which was rebuilt (with help from Dutch millwrights) after the 1972 replica was destroyed by arson in 2000, is a recognized symbol of the city. The museum is a Manitoba Star Attraction, Signature Museum and attracts approximately 47,000 visitors each year.


Music

Formed in 1969 by Shirley Penner and disbanding in the 1990s, Steinbach was well-known for the youth choir The Treble Teens, which recorded several albums, toured widely, and appeared in television commercials, including Steinbach Auto Dealers "It's Worth the Trip" jingle. Other notable musicians from Steinbach include Ojibwa folk singer Shingoose, rock bands Royal Canoe and
The Waking Eyes The Waking Eyes were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg and Steinbach, Manitoba. History The band formed after the break-up of two other Manitoba bands, The Pets from Steinbach and Novillero from Winnipeg. In 2002 The Waking Eyes released a fu ...
, and John and Harry Hildebrand of the 1960s rock band The Eternals.


Steinbach Arts Council

The Steinbach Arts Council has showcased Steinbach arts and culture, of various types, since the early 1970s. The Arts Council hosts professional arts programming in music, theatre, creative writing, and the visual arts, as well as offering lessons in those areas. The Arts Council building includes a small hallway art gallery.


Media

Currently, Steinbach's oldest media outlet is '' The Carillon'', an award-winning weekly newspaper founded in 1946 by Eugene Derksen that covers the news of Southeastern Manitoba. Steinbach also has three radio stations run by
Golden West Broadcasting Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. is a Canadian radio and digital media company based in Altona, Manitoba. It is the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada. The company primarily operates small-market radio stations and internet portals in ...
: AM 1250 is an easy listening station, Mix 96.7 FM plays current pop hits, and CJXR-FM is a country station. Steinbach is also home to ''Die Mennonitische Post'', one of the last remaining German-language newspapers in North America. Started by Jacob S. Friesen in 1913 and taken over by Arnold Dyck in 1924, Steinbach was also home to the German-language ''Steinbach Post'' for many decades.


Sports and recreation


Baseball

First organizer by local banker T.G. Smith, Steinbach has had recreational baseball since 1955. Steinbach is home to a number of baseball diamonds, most notably at the A.D. Penner Park. The city is home to teams such as the Carillon Sultans.


Canadian football

The Eastman Raiders football club, based in Steinbach, was formed in 1991. There are now over 260 athletes, ranging in age from 7 to 22, playing in the Raiders program. In 2009, the Eastman Raiders midget team captured their first championship with a 20–9 victory over the St Vital Mustangs. Teams play at A.D. Penner Park. The most notable football player from Steinbach is star CFL running back Andrew Harris.


Curling

The Steinbach Curling Club opened in October 2014 and is located adjacent to the T.G. Smith Centre. It has five sheets and hosts a variety of different leagues, including a successful junior program. The current rink replaced the previous one that was built in 1948 and located across the street. A number of Steinbach curlers have gone on to have success at the provincial and national level, most notably Brier-winners Vic Peters and Chris Neufeld. Steinbach has also hosted two Safeway Select Provincial Men's Curling Championships (2006 and
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
).


Golf

The Steinbach Fly-in Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course adjacent to the local airport. Quarry Oaks Golf and Country Club, Girouxsalem Golf and Country Club, and Ridgewood South Golf Course are just outside the city.


Ice hockey

Steinbach is home to the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...
's Steinbach Pistons. The Pistons have won three Turnbull Cups (2012–13, 2017–18, 2022–23) and one ANAVET Cup (2017–18). The Pistons also participated in the 2013 Western Canada Cup, 2018 Royal Bank Cup and 2023 Centennial Cup. The Pistons play in the Southeast Event Centre, which opened in 2025. The Steinbach Huskies senior hockey club have been a fixture in the local hockey scene since the 1920s. The Junior Huskies are eight-time champions of the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League. The Huskies qualified for the 1979 Allan Cup finals as Western Canadian champions, but lost the best-of-seven series . Steinbach's
minor hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...
teams are known as the Steinbach Millers. Steinbach has hosted the
Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...
, Canada's senior 'AAA' hockey championship, twice in 2009 and 2016. The 2009 Allan Cup featured two Steinbach-based teams, the host Steinbach North Stars and the Manitoba champion South East Prairie Thunder competing in the tournament. The Prairie Thunder advanced as far as the championship game, which was broadcast nationally on TSN, but lost in double overtime. Three years later, the Prairie Thunder captured their first ever national title at the 2012 Allan Cup. The 2016 Allan Cup was also held in Steinbach, hosted by the Prairie Thunder. Notable professional hockey players from Steinbach include Jon Barkman,
Ken Block Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional Rallying, rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoe ...
, Paul Dyck, Dale Krentz, Jeff Penner, Sean Tallaire, and Ian White, as well as NHL coach
Ralph Krueger Ralph Krueger (born 31 August 1959) is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the former head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL), and former chairman of Sout ...
.


Soccer

Steinbach is home to a number of soccer teams, including the men's Hanover Kickers, who play in Manitoba's Premier League Two, the Hanover Strikers who play in Major League Two of Manitoba Major Soccer League, and the Hanover Hype playing in the Winnipeg Women's Soccer League. The city also has a Futsal league that operates during the winter. The 40 acre Steinbach Soccer Park, opened in 2009, contains 5 full-size soccer pitches.


Swimming

The Steinbach Aquatic Center adjacent to nearby A.D. Penner Park, opened in 2002 and contains an indoor pool with waterslide as well as an outdoor pool open seasonally.


Notable people


Actors

* Scott Bairstow,
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
*
Allison Hossack Allison Hossack is a Canadian actress. Early years Born in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, Hossack grew up in Killarney, Manitoba, and participated in musical theatre productions while a student there. She began her studies at Brandon Universit ...
, actress


Athletes

* Jon Barkman, former professional hockey player *
Ken Block Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional Rallying, rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoe ...
, former professional hockey player * Paul Dyck, former professional hockey player * Andrew Harris,
Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
player * Dale Krentz, former professional hockey player * Eric Loeppky, volleyball * Chris Neufeld, curler, Brier champion * Denni Neufeld, curler * Jeff Penner, former professional hockey player * Vic Peters, curler, Brier champion * Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, Olympian, volleyball * Sean Tallaire, former professional hockey player * Ian White, former professional hockey player


Musicians

* Julian Austin, country musician * Matt Epp, singer-songwriter * The Pets,
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band * Danny Plett, Contemporary Christian musician * Royal Canoe, indie rock band * Shingoose, Ojibwa folk singer * The Undecided,
pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
band *
The Waking Eyes The Waking Eyes were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg and Steinbach, Manitoba. History The band formed after the break-up of two other Manitoba bands, The Pets from Steinbach and Novillero from Winnipeg. In 2002 The Waking Eyes released a fu ...
, alternative rock band


Politicians

* Robert Banman, former MLA, provincial cabinet minister * Leonard Barkman, former mayor and MLA * Henry Braun, former mayor of
Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...
* Albert Driedger, former MLA and cabinet minister *
Jake Epp Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadians, Canadian executive and former politician. Life and career Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering ...
, former MP and federal cabinet minister * Ted Falk, MP *
Kelvin Goertzen Kelvin Goertzen (born June 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd premier of Manitoba from September to November, 2021. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, he is a member of the Legislative Assembly o ...
, MLA and 23rd Premier of Manitoba * Russ Hiebert, MP * Judy Klassen, MLA * Helmut Pankratz, mayor and MLA * A.D. Penner, mayor * Jim Penner, MLA *
Vic Toews Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, ...
, politician


Writers

* Lynnette D'anna, writer * MaryLou Driedger, Young Adult fiction author * Arnold Dyck, writer * Patrick Friesen,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
* Lynette Loeppky, writer * Royden Loewen, historian * Delbert Plett, lawyer and historian * Audrey Poetker, poet * Al Reimer, writer * Byron Rempel, writer * Wayne Tefs, writer, co-founder of Turnstone Press * Miriam Toews,
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
Miriam Toews Manitoba Author Publication Index
* Andrew Unger, writer * Roy Vogt, writer


Other

* John Martin Crawford, serial killer *
Ralph Krueger Ralph Krueger (born 31 August 1959) is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the former head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL), and former chairman of Sout ...
, former ice hockey head coach and soccer executive * Raymond Loewen, businessman as depicted in the 2023 film ''The Burial'' * Peter Olfert, labour leader * Robert L. Peters, graphic designer * Jeremy St. Louis, broadcaster * Erich Vogt,
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1874 establishments in Manitoba Cities in Manitoba Mennonitism in Manitoba Populated places established in 1874