Steinbach, Manitoba
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Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
,
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 o ...
, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eastman region. The city 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 (b ...
to the north, west, and south, and the
Rural Municipality of La Broquerie La Broquerie (french: Municipalité rurale de La Broquerie) is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada, located in the southeastern part of the province, just south and east of the city of Steinbach. The municipality ...
to the east. Steinbach was first settled by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
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 The Sandilands Provincial Forest is a forest located within the southeastern area of Manitoba, Canada, and consists of thousands of acres of sand hills, forest, wetlands, and mostly unpopulated crown lands. Sandilands Provincial Forest covers cl ...
is a short distance east of the city. Steinbach's economy has traditionally been focused around
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
; however, as the regional
economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
hub of southeastern Manitoba, Steinbach now has a trading area
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of about 50,000 people and significant employment in the
financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, ...
industry, automobile sales,
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
, 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 (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **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 Nakod ...
and
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...
First Nations left the region in the 1820s, the
Anishinabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
hunted in and moved seasonally through the area on their way to the burial grounds in the
Whiteshell Whiteshells (also known as Cowrie shells or Sacred ''Miigis'' Shells) were used by aboriginal peoples around the world, but the words "whiteshell" and "''Miigis'' Shell" specifically refers to shells used by Ojibway peoples in their Midewiwin cerem ...
. 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 ''Treaty 1'' (also known as the "Stone Fort Treaty") is an agreement established on August 3, 1871, between the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland and the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree nations. The first of a series of treaties called the ...
, 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. The nearest settled area was 17 km north in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, a
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...
village founded 17 years earlier in 1856. In 1873, the Canadian government sent
William Hespeler William Hespeler (December 29, 1830 – April 18, 1921), born ''Wilhelm'', was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary co ...
to recruit Russian Mennonites to move to the area. By the 1870s, some Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites in South Russia became dissatisfied with increasing
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cult ...
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 fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
and
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-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 cultu ...
, after which time they lived in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
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 name ...
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 U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
, 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 Manitoba 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 the East Reserve's earliest settl ...
. 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 Jacob Yost Shantz (2May 182228October 1909) was a Mennonite farmer, businessman, and industrialist from Ontario, Canada. He played a significant role in the urban development of Berlin, Ontario ( which is now the city of Kitchener), where he held ...
, 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 (or Milk River) colony) in south Russia (now
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
) and arrived in Canada late in the summer of 1874. Aided by their
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...
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 housebarns. 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 Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...
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 among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshoppe ...
destroyed the crops in 1876, residents of Steinbach met in Blumenort to discuss the possibility of migrating to
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
or
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
. 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 Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...
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). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...
,
whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...
, and
diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...
. 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, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, 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 that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Prime Minister
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...
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 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
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 (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
and
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...
, 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 (b ...
. 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 served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
, 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 Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, 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 1941, the
Steinbach Credit Union Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) is a Canadian co-operative financial institution and formerly the country's largest single branch credit union. Founded in 1941, is one of the largest credit unions, by total assets, in the province of Manitoba and ...
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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, most Steinbachers who were eligible for the draft served in alternative service as conscientious objectors, 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, 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 60s, 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 Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
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 : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, 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 The Evangelical Mennonite Conference is a conference of Canadian evangelical Mennonite Christians headquartered in Steinbach, Manitoba, with 62 churches from British Columbia to southern Ontario. It includes people with a wide range of cultural ...
, burned to the ground. The same year, the last traditional Mennonite housebarn 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 Mennonite Heritage Village is a museum in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada telling the story of the Russian Mennonites in Canada. The museum contains both an open-air museum open seasonally, and indoor galleries open year-round. Opened in 1967 and ex ...
museum in Steinbach was opened. In 1966, infamous gold thief
Ken Leishman Kenneth Leishman (June 20, 1931 – December 14, 1979), also known as the Flying Bandit or the Gentleman Bandit was a Canadian criminal responsible for multiple robberies between 1957 and 1966. Leishman was the mastermind behind the largest gold ...
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 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...
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. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
. 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, a former local high school
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, 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 (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...
in 1989, Aussiedler Mennonites, who had remained in the Soviet Union (particularly
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
) 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 nineties 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 90s 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 structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
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 ''A Complicated Kindness'' (2004) is the third novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews. The novel won the Governor General's Award for English Fiction, the CBA Libris Fiction Award, and CBC's ''Canada Reads''. Plot The novel is set in a small r ...
''. 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 Frenc ...
, 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.Manitoba – City Population – Cities, Towns & Provinces – Statistics & Map
/ref> 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 growth was attributed to immigration from such countries as Germany, Russia, and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. Steinbach gained national recognition from such newspapers as ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', 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 Steinbach Christian School (SCS; formerly Steinbach Christian High School) is a co-educational independent day school in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. The school comprises a Junior School (Kindergarten-Grade 4), a Middle School (grades 5-8) and ...
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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
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.


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 7 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 (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
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 9 votes. In the same referendum, voters approved, by a slightly wider margin, allowing sports facilities such as the Steinbach Fly-In Golf Course to serve alcohol. In February 2008, Steinbach Council voted in favour of opening a liquor store on Main Street, as prohibition had been lifted. 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 ...
. 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. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
, 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 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 fertile 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 anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...
. Some of this original prairie can still be viewed at the
Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgra ...
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 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 stretchi ...
, eventually growing into
Sandilands Provincial Forest The Sandilands Provincial Forest is a forest located within the southeastern area of Manitoba, Canada, and consists of thousands of acres of sand hills, forest, wetlands, and mostly unpopulated crown lands. Sandilands Provincial Forest covers cl ...
and the large
boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...
region extending east and north of the city. Steinbach is close to many Canadian Shield 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 Class II protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories. It is in size. ...
and the Lake of the Woods in Kenora.
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of t ...
( 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 ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...
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 is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
Steinbach has a warm summer continental climate (
Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...
). The highest ever recorded temperature in Steinbach was , while the lowest ever recorded temperature was . 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 (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, 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, pharmaceuticals, retail, and financial services such as the
Steinbach Credit Union Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) is a Canadian co-operative financial institution and formerly the country's largest single branch credit union. Founded in 1941, is one of the largest credit unions, by total assets, in the province of Manitoba and ...
, 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 Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...
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 operations. Aside from intensive pig and chicken barns there are numerous small,
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
,
dairy farms A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
that dot the area. Crops grown on the fertile farmland surrounding Steinbach primarily include
canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...
, corn, alfalfa, as well as
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
, soybeans,
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, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
, and
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
.


Demographics

In the
2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...
conducted by Statistics Canada, 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 3rd 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. Approximately forty percent 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. 30% of Steinbach residents claim German as their mother tongue, which includes both
High German The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), 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 Benrath and ...
and Plautdietsch, 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%. Census data from 2011 shows that Steinbach has a higher than average rate of religious affiliation of 88.73%, 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 follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, and 12.44% are
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Less than 1% belonged to either
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, Islam,
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
or
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
combined. In the total population surveyed, 11.27% claim no religious affiliation. The median after-tax household income in 2020 for Steinbach was $64,000, which is below the Manitoba provincial average of $69,000.


Ethnic groups


Government

Steinbach is represented by 6 councilors 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 Manitoba 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 the East Reserve's earliest settl ...
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 (b ...
. 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. Currently, the city is represented federally by the Conservative Party of Canada and provincially by the
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Manitoba) is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the governing party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, after winnin ...
. The city and surrounding area comprise the provincial riding of Steinbach, which has been represented in the
Manitoba Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gene ...
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 Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural district in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of St ...
riding, which has been represented by MP Ted Falk since 2013.


Infrastructure and public services


Access

Steinbach is unique in that there are no railways or rivers passing through town, so transportation to and from Steinbach has always been via road. The city is located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
, 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 (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 Atlantic Ocean on ...
( 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 Sprague may refer to: Places ;Canada * Sprague, Manitoba, a small town near the Minnesota/Manitoba border ;United States * Sprague, Alabama, Montgomery County, Alabama * Sprague, Connecticut * Sprague, Missouri * Sprague, Nebraska * 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 one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
which is named
MOM's Way MOM's Way is the name for a series of highways in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, and the U.S. state of Minnesota. The name "MOM" is an acronym for Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota, the two provinces and one state traversed by thi ...
.


Airports

The City of Steinbach owns and maintains Steinbach Airport, a federally registered
aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) 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 publ ...
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 and 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 ce ...
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 Steinbach Regional Secondary School is a large public high school located in Steinbach, Manitoba, the second largest high school in the province with over 1900 students. The school was built in 1972 and was opened by then premier, Ed Schreyer on ...
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 Schools, a private school, offers all grades (Kindergarten – Grade 12). Steinbach is home to the evangelical
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, 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 Schools. It also has a post-secondary learning campus called Eastman Education Centre, which offers courses from
Red River College Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) is a List of colleges in Canada, college located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the province's largest institute of applied learning and applied research, with over 200 degree, diploma, and cer ...
,
University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...
,
Assiniboine Community College Assiniboine Community College (ACC) is a Canadian community college in the province of Manitoba. It is accredited by the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education, which was created by the government of Manitoba. The Victoria Avenue East and ...
and Providence University College.


Arts and culture

Opening in 1967, and undergoing numerous expansions since then, the
Mennonite Heritage Village Mennonite Heritage Village is a museum in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada telling the story of the Russian Mennonites in Canada. The museum contains both an open-air museum open seasonally, and indoor galleries open year-round. Opened in 1967 and ex ...
is Steinbach's foremost cultural facility and tourist attraction. It provides a glimpse at the life of Mennonite settlers through a reconstructed street village and interpretive displays. Its Dutch
windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...
, 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 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 Steinbach Arts Council has showcased Steinbach arts and culture, of various types, since the 1980s. 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 early Steinbach along the, now dry, Steinbach Creek. Steinbach has had a public library since 1973, although serious efforts to establish a regional library began in 1968 when Mary Barkman organized a Friends of the Library group. In 1997, the library moved into its own newly constructed building and was renamed Jake Epp Library. Jake Epp, former MP of Provencher, had appointed the very first Library Board in 1973. Mary Barkman, a key figure in the founding of the Library, was also honored at the opening ceremony. 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''. A major library expansion was completed in 2012. Steinbach is known for having a significant place in the world of
Mennonite literature Mennonite literature emerged in the mid-to-late 20th century as both a literary movement and a distinct genre. Mennonite literature refers to literary works created by or about Mennonites. Definition Mennonite literature, in the modern sense, usua ...
.
Arnold Dyck Arnold (Abram Bernhard) Dyck (January 19, 1889 – July 10, 1970) was a Russian Mennonite writer born in Hochfeld, Ukraine. He immigrated to Canada in 1923, residing in Steinbach, Manitoba, where he purchased and edited the ''Steinbach Post''. He is ...
was the editor of the German-language ''Steinbach Post'' in the early 20th century and the first writer to use Plautdietsch as a written language. In the 1970s and 80s came the work of poet
Patrick Friesen Patrick Frank Friesen (born 5 July 1946) is a Canadian author born in Steinbach, Manitoba, primarily known for his poetry and stage plays beginning in the 1970s. Life and career Friesen was born into a Mennonite family in Steinbach, Manitoba ...
, 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 ''A Complicated Kindness'' (2004) is the third novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews. The novel won the Governor General's Award for English Fiction, the CBA Libris Fiction Award, and CBC's ''Canada Reads''. Plot The novel is set in a small r ...
'' 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 Andrew Unger (born November 8, 1979) is a Canadian writer from Steinbach, Manitoba, best known as the author and founder of the Mennonite satire website The Daily Bonnet (along with the collection ''The Best of the Bonnet'') and for the novel '' ...
started The Daily Bonnet, a website that publishes satirical
Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...
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 Lynnette D'anna (born 1955 as Lynnette Dueck) is a Canadian writer, and the author of five novels. Canadian literature Biography D'anna was born in Steinbach, Manitoba and currently resides in Winnipeg. She was a finalist for the John Hirsch Most ...
, Luann Hiebert, and Audrey Poetker, as well as historians
Royden Loewen Royden Loewen (born 26 October 1954 in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired Canadian History Professor and Chair in Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg. As a prominent historian in the field of Mennonite history, his book about the ...
and Delbert Plett, among others. Regional cuisine unique to Steinbach would include various Mennonite dishes such as vereniki, farmer sausage, sunflower seeds,
yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba-maté (''Ilex paraguariensis''; from Spanish ; pt, erva-mate, or ; gn, ka'a, ) is a plant species of the holly genus '' Ilex'' native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The lea ...
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 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 inter ...
with
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populat ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, which is near where all of Steinbach's pioneering families immigrated from in the 1870s. 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 bee ...
to open in the former dry community, and the first privately run art gallery in the southeast. Steinbach is the headquarters of both the
Evangelical Mennonite Conference The Evangelical Mennonite Conference is a conference of Canadian evangelical Mennonite Christians headquartered in Steinbach, Manitoba, with 62 churches from British Columbia to southern Ontario. It includes people with a wide range of cultural ...
, formerly known as the Kleine Gemeinde, and the Christian Mennonite Conference, formerly known as Chortitz Heritage Church, Chortitzer Mennonite Conference.


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: CHSM, AM 1250 is an easy listening station, CILT-FM, 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 Arnold (Abram Bernhard) Dyck (January 19, 1889 – July 10, 1970) was a Russian Mennonite writer born in Hochfeld, Ukraine. He immigrated to Canada in 1923, residing in Steinbach, Manitoba, where he purchased and edited the ''Steinbach Post''. He is ...
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. The most notable football player from Steinbach is star CFL running back Andrew Harris (Canadian football), 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 Championship, Safeway Select Provincial Men's Curling Championships (2006 and 2010 Safeway Championship, 2010).


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's T.G. Smith Centre is home to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Steinbach Pistons. The Pistons have won two Turnbull Cups (2012–13, 2017–18) and one ANAVET Cup (2017–18). The Pistons also participated in the 2013 Western Canada Cup and 2018 Royal Bank Cup. The Steinbach Huskies senior hockey club has been a fixture in the local hockey scene since the 1920s and currently plays in the Carillon Senior Hockey League. The Steinbach Huskies#Junior Huskies, 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 teams are known as the Steinbach Millers. Steinbach has hosted The Allan Cup, 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 The Sports Network, 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, Paul Dyck, Dale Krentz, Jeff Penner, Sean Tallaire, and Ian White (ice hockey), Ian White, as well as NHL coach Ralph Krueger.


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


Arts and literature

*Scott Bairstow, actor *
Lynnette D'anna Lynnette D'anna (born 1955 as Lynnette Dueck) is a Canadian writer, and the author of five novels. Canadian literature Biography D'anna was born in Steinbach, Manitoba and currently resides in Winnipeg. She was a finalist for the John Hirsch Most ...
, writer *
Arnold Dyck Arnold (Abram Bernhard) Dyck (January 19, 1889 – July 10, 1970) was a Russian Mennonite writer born in Hochfeld, Ukraine. He immigrated to Canada in 1923, residing in Steinbach, Manitoba, where he purchased and edited the ''Steinbach Post''. He is ...
, writer *
Patrick Friesen Patrick Frank Friesen (born 5 July 1946) is a Canadian author born in Steinbach, Manitoba, primarily known for his poetry and stage plays beginning in the 1970s. Life and career Friesen was born into a Mennonite family in Steinbach, Manitoba ...
, poet *Allison Hossack, actress * Lynette Loeppky, writer *
Royden Loewen Royden Loewen (born 26 October 1954 in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired Canadian History Professor and Chair in Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg. As a prominent historian in the field of Mennonite history, his book about the ...
, historian * Delbert Plett, lawyer and historian * Audrey Poetker, poet * Al Reimer, writer * Byron Rempel, writer * Miriam Toews, novelist *
Andrew Unger Andrew Unger (born November 8, 1979) is a Canadian writer from Steinbach, Manitoba, best known as the author and founder of the Mennonite satire website The Daily Bonnet (along with the collection ''The Best of the Bonnet'') and for the novel '' ...
, writer * Roy Vogt, writer


Athletes

*Jon Barkman, former professional ice hockey player *Ken Block (ice hockey), Ken Block, former professional ice hockey player *Paul Dyck, former professional ice hockey player *Andrew Harris (Canadian football), Andrew Harris, Canadian football player for the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League, CFL) *Dale Krentz, former professional hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings (National Hockey League, NHL) *Ralph Krueger, former ice hockey head coach and soccer executive *Chris Neufeld, curling, curler, 1992 Labatt Brier, Brier champion *Denni Neufeld, curling, curler *Jeff Penner, professional ice hockey player *Vic Peters, curler, 1992 Labatt Brier, Brier champion *Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, Olympian, volleyball *Sean Tallaire, former professional hockey player *Ian White (ice hockey), Ian White, former professional ice hockey player


Musicians

*Julian Austin (musician), Julian Austin, country musician *The Pets (2000s band), The Pets, Rock music, rock Rock band#Rock and pop bands, band *Danny Plett, Contemporary Christian musician *Royal Canoe, indie rock band *Shingoose, Ojibwa folk singer *The Undecided, pop-punk band *The Waking Eyes, alternative rock band


Politicians

*Robert Banman, former MLA, provincial cabinet minister * Leonard Barkman, former mayor and MLA *Henry Braun (politician), Henry Braun, mayor of Abbotsford, British Columbia *Albert Driedger, former MLA and cabinet minister * Jake Epp, 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 *Raymond Loewen, businessman and politician *Helmut Pankratz, mayor and MLA * A.D. Penner, mayor *Vic Toews, politician


Other

*John Martin Crawford, serial killer *Peter Olfert, labour leader *Robert L. Peters, graphic designer *Erich Vogt, physicist


References


External links

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