Steinbach City Council Reporting

2026 council candidates' forum: every question, every answer

All 10 candidates' answers on growth, infrastructure, taxes, business, quality of life and Steinbach in 20 years, side by side and linked to the video, plus a check of the four incumbents' answers against their council record.

Chamber of Commerce forum, Oct 15, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Transcript: 2026 council candidates' forum

The full forum transcript, speaker by speaker, with every turn linked to the video. Free to reuse; download as text or JSON.

Chamber of Commerce forum, Oct 15, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Residents' election forum: what residents asked, and how four candidates answered

Residents' questions on housing, health, transportation and quality of life from the Southeast Equity Coalition and Strong Towns Steinbach forum, with full answers from the four candidates who attended, linked to the videos.

Residents' forum, Oct 7, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Transcript: residents' election forum

The candidates' answers at the residents' forum, topic by topic, with every turn linked to the video. Download as text or JSON.

Residents' forum, Oct 7, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Candidates in writing: growth and housing, flooding, and public safety

All 10 candidates' written answers to SteinbachOnline on three issues, side by side with summaries and key quotes, plus record checks for the incumbents.

SteinbachOnline, Oct 7–15, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026

Taxes, spending and priorities: how does Steinbach pay its way?

Priorities, five years of budgets, reserves and the five-year debt rule: council's record in its own words, and how Steinbach's tax rate compares with Brandon, Selkirk and Thompson.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Housing and development: keeping up with growth

Affordable housing, infill apartments versus single-family neighbourhoods, and who pays for growth: council's record in its own words, and how Brandon, Niverville and others compare.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Sewer backups: what council said, and how Steinbach compares

Council's plan after the 2024 and 2025 sewer backups, its reasons for not going further in its own words, and a comparison with what Brandon, Winnipeg, Toronto and other cities do.

Meetings Sept 2025 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Steinbach in 10 to 20 years: what has council planned?

Growth to 35,000–45,000, the $215M wastewater decision, annexation and neighbours, and the plans that exist and don't: council's record in its own words, compared with Brandon and Winkler.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Health and wellbeing: what can council do?

Doctor shortages, the Mayor's recruitment task force, clinic space, recreation and wellbeing: council's record in its own words, and how councils in Niverville, Clarington and others compare.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Homelessness in Steinbach: what's been done, and what could be

What council has done about homelessness, from The Bridge to the shelter zoning rules, its reasons for not doing more in its own words, and what councils in Brandon, Thompson and Lloydminster do.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Traffic in Steinbach: what can council do, and what has it done?

Main Street and Highway 12 are provincial, but council has tools: traffic counts, cost-shared intersections and lobbying. Its record in its own words, the slow Giesbrecht lights, and what peers do.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

New neighbourhoods: do drainage, sidewalks and parks arrive on time?

Lot grading, sidewalks, playgrounds and paving in new subdivisions, wells and septic in fringe areas, and who checks: council's record in its own words, compared with Brandon, Winnipeg and Calgary.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Public notice and having a say: do residents' objections count?

How residents hear about rezonings and variances, petitions, postponement requests and the 2025 plan review: council's record in its own words, how often objections changed the result, and how Brandon, Selkirk and Lethbridge compare.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Crime and policing in Steinbach

The 18-officer RCMP contract, yearly policing priorities, overnight security patrols and community safety officers: council's record in its own words, and how officers per resident, cost and crime severity compare with Winkler, Morden, Brandon and Portage.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Business growth and investment: what has council done?

The end of the economic development office, the industrial land squeeze, the Chamber's business tax and downtown rules: council's record in its own words, and how Winkler, Morden and Portage compare.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Quality of life: noise, belonging, parks, recreation and arts

Noise enforcement, racism and welcoming newcomers, flags and inclusion, green space, recreation and arts space: council's record in its own words, and how other councils compare.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Can Steinbach have public transit?

Steinbach's only transit is ACCESSible Transit for seniors and people with disabilities. What council has said about anything more, and how Winkler, Selkirk and other similar-size cities run transit.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

Property standards: how does Steinbach keep rentals and yards maintained?

The 2003 junk-and-weeds by-law, basement-suite safety rules, complaint-driven enforcement and residents' rental-upkeep concerns: council's record in its own words, compared with Brandon, Winkler, Winnipeg and Ontario cities that license rentals.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Behind closed doors? How much of council's work happens outside public meetings

Do unanimous votes, including on developers' applications, mean decisions were made in advance? Four tests on 103 meetings, council's closed committee and budget study sessions, and how they measure up against Manitoba's Municipal Act and councils such as Selkirk and Brandon.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Recorded public deliberation on Steinbach City Council

How often councillors state a position and give reasons, out loud, on 527 substantive decisions across all 103 regular meetings, 2022–2026. Provisional and AI-coded; includes the full data download and the rubric methodology.

Meetings Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Data: .xlsx