Manitoba’s Minister of Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation visited Steinbach on Friday, where he met with Mayor Earl Funk and Councillor Susan Penner for a tour and discussion focused on economic development.
Minister Jamie Moses, who was in Steinbach earlier this year for a business forum and the Chamber of Commerce banquet, returned to see firsthand the pace of growth and expansion in the city.
“He was just astounded with the amount of development and what was going on in our community,” said Funk. “He’s toured some of our bigger businesses before, but I wanted to show him the broader scope of development — not just what’s already here, but what’s being built.”
Tour highlights included the city’s industrial park, Lexington Village, Parkhill - the new school on the west side of Steinbach. The delegation also visited Penn-Co, a major construction firm located in Steinbach’s northwest.
“We talked about some projects like hard-servicing the rest of Park Road,” said Funk, noting that the city sees potential in the area if proper infrastructure is put in place. “I do believe that northern quadrant would just explode if we had asphalt to it.”
Funk emphasized the importance of building strong relationships with provincial leaders, saying it’s a priority for City Council to be viewed as a collaborative partner by government decision-makers.
“It’s really important for me as mayor to make these connections,” he said. “We want to be seen as partners in growing the province.”
Councillor Susan Penner called it an honour to host Minister Moses again, noting that he had only recently been in Steinbach for the Chamber banquet. She said the return visit allowed the minister to witness the city’s rapid growth and see firsthand the progress on a number of developments.
“He was really amazed at what he saw in terms of the growth and activity in Steinbach,” Penner said. “It’s really important that provincial ministers see what’s happening because as we need funding for different infrastructure projects, it’s great that Steinbach could be top of mind.”
During the meeting, council members also discussed the importance of working across political lines. Funk said he hopes visits like this one emphasize a collaborative, non-partisan approach to economic development — one focused on growing Manitoba by supporting regions like the southeast.