Steinbach, Manitoba

Steinbach, Manitoba

Steinbach i/ˈstaɪnbæk/ is a city of approx. 13,524 people in the Canada 2011 Census. It is located in the southeast corner of the province of Manitoba, Canada, a short distance from the capital Winnipeg. Steinbach is the largest community in the Eastman region of Manitoba. The city is located in the Rural Municipality of Hanover and bordered to the east by the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie.

The name of "Steinbach" is translated from German as "Stony Brook" and was first settled by Mennonite peoples in 1874. The city continues to have a strong Mennonite and German influence today with over 50 percent of the residents claiming German heritage. Steinbach is found on the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, while Sandilands Provincial Forest is a short distance east of the city.

Steinbach is primarily an agricultural community, however as the regional economic hub of southeastern Manitoba, Steinbach has a trading area population of about 50,000 people. Thus the city also has many service and commercial businesses to serve the population. Steinbach is the fastest-growing city in Manitoba and third fastest census agglomeration in Canada. The city had a population growth of 22.2% between the 2006 and the 2011 census periods. This places it as the third largest community in Manitoba. The city has gained national recognition as an immigration hotbed of Canada and a model for immigration in the country. In 2012, for the first time ever MoneySense ranked Steinbach in their best places to live in Canada list where the community placed 66th out of 190 cities.