MBiz

Eastern Three's the Charm Steinbach embraces status as Manitoba's third largest city by Pat St. Germain Welcome home: Canada Day in Steinbach. Photo by Gina Brandt Photography It seems Steinbach really is worth the trip. Double-digit growth over the last decade — largely thanks to a steady influx of immigrant families — has given Steinbach bragging rights as Manitoba's third-largest city, after Winnipeg and Brandon. The 2011 federal census pegged the population at 13,524, up 22.2% from 2006. And Mayor Chris Goertzen says Steinbach now ranks as the third fastest-growing city in Canada. "The growth is a great thing. It brings about its own challenges, but we're really thriving and the community has really embraced the growth and embraced new people," Goertzen says. With a median age of 34.8, the city also has a remarkably young population, and new development reflects that family demographic. Classes started in the new Clearspring Middle School in September and a planned 105,000 sq. ft. expansion to the Steinbach Regional Secondary School will include a day care centre when it's completed in the fall of 2014. "There's a lot of young families deciding that Steinbach is a great place to raise a family," Goertzen says, adding many immigrant groups also tend to have larger families. 38 MBiz November 2012 "And larger families tend to create a younger demographic for the population numbers." The majority of newcomers are from Germany — not surprising given Steinbach's Mennonite heritage — and immigrants from the Philippines are a close second.  "Once you get a critical mass of certain individuals, you tend to get more people from that area," Goertzen says, adding family reunification and an existing immigrant population play a major role. "Being an immigrant isn't an easy thing and you're looking for some familiarity." Eastman Immigrant Services offers assistance with language, cultural orientation and employment preparation services, and the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has welcomed new entrepreneurs to the fold with events such as Culturama and Canada Day activities.  Goertzen says immigrants bring many skills to Steinbach, and it's a city of entrepreneurs in many respects. He says it's also a city of immigrants, and the latest wave is history repeating itself. "We know that we are all immigrants," he says. "Whether it's our grandparents, our parents or ourselves, we all came from somewhere and we made Steinbach our home." www.steinbach.ca

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