Steinbach City Council · Jan 2022 – Sept 2026 · Election forum topic: Health & Wellbeing

Health and wellbeing: what can council do?

What role has Steinbach City Council played in building health-care capacity, especially family doctors, and in helping residents live healthier lives? Where has it held back, and how do other councils compare?

Quotes link to their moment in the official meeting videos; news and peer sources are linked. Last updated Oct 13, 2026.

Bottom line

The doctor shortage is real and measured. In June 2024, 3,962 Steinbach residents had no primary care provider, and Southern Health said the area needed 10 more full-time family doctors.
Council's main tools have been advocacy and small, targeted steps. It paid up to $10,000 toward a 2023 family-medicine residents' retreat, created a Mayor's Doctor Recruitment Task Force in 2024, and led a push through Manitoba's cities for medical-school seats reserved for rural students.
The task force's spending ask was never decided at a recorded meeting. It asked for about $20,000 a year, plus $90,000 per doctor if a recruiter was hired. No funding vote appears in the minutes, and the 2026 budget shows no recruitment line.
Council's stated reason for holding back: health care is a provincial responsibility. Several members said so in nearly the same words.
On healthy living, the money has gone to buildings. The Southeast Event Centre cost the city about $30 million, and recreation operating spending rose from $4.6M (2023) to $6.2M (2026). Lower-cost measures lag: the Active Transportation Plan for walking and cycling has no funded projects yet, and the city has no volunteer program.
Peers do more with money and space. About 95% of Manitoba municipalities spend money on recruiting health workers, and Niverville owns its clinic building. Doctors are now interested in Steinbach, and councillors say clinic space is the next bottleneck.

Part 1 · The council record

Health-care capacity: what council has done

A measured shortage

“Southern Health and Santé Zuid estimates that for the Steinbach area, 10 full-time physicians or the equivalent would need to be recruited to begin addressing the current needs. 3 new full-time physicians in addition to filling the current 7 vacancies. … the recent stats as of June 27th, 2024 indicate that 3,962 citizens do not currently have a primary care provider”

M.B., chair of the Mayor's Doctor Recruitment Task Force, presenting the task force report · Jul 16, 2024 · 0:19:10

Context

Other figures quoted in council were higher. Councillor Siemens cited “7,000, 8,000” people looking for a doctor in 2023 and “approximately 8,000 names” on the provincial Find a Doc list in 2025. The lists count different things, and Southern Health's figure is the most precise. Province-wide, about 187,000 Manitobans had no family doctor in February 2026 (Doctors Manitoba).

Targeted recruitment steps

“It is important that we do whatever we can to recruit more doctors to our city. We know this is a significant challenge, and what I like about this, the motion here, is that we're targeting something specific.”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra, on paying up to $10,000 toward a 2023 family-medicine residents' retreat · Jul 18, 2023 · 0:56:22

“Many of the challenges are— go far beyond just our city. But I think it's, it's prudent for us to ask the question of, are there any things that we can do as a community, uh, to both recruit new doctors and also have current doctors stay as long as possible?”

Michael Zwaagstra, Deputy Mayor (chairing), as council created the Mayor's Doctor Recruitment Task Force · Mar 5, 2024 · 0:58:29

“Waterford Global's fee for service is $90,000 per physician for a 4-year return of service agreement. … So the total ask on behalf of the task force is $20,000 plus Waterford Global's fee for service per physician.”

M.B., chair of the Mayor's Doctor Recruitment Task Force · Jul 16, 2024 · 0:29:27

“I think we need to take this, the rest of this recommendation, this package, and look at it and look at it from a budget point of view so that we can see what we need to do on council to start doing some of these things”

Mayor Earl Funk · Jul 16, 2024 · 0:38:13

Advocacy for rural training seats

“The reality is that if doctors are from here, they're more likely to stay. And if they're not from here, they're more likely to leave.”

Councillor Susan Penner, task force member · Jul 16, 2024 · 0:34:35

“he got an increase in seats to 10, but we need— we need that to triple. … we're never going to fix this if we don't start taking and dedicating seats to our local students.”

Mayor Earl Funk · Oct 21, 2025 · 1:02:13

“now there's a new letter out from the minister and it's very favorable and we will be seeing rural doctors being streamed for family medicine.”

Mayor Earl Funk, year-end remarks · Jan 6, 2026 · 0:09:17

Follow-through

Date	What happened
2020–21	City grants of $250,000 a year to the Bethesda Foundation, per the grants summary council received in March 2022.
Sept 2022	Hospital Street lots rezoned for the Bethesda Regional Health Centre expansion (R22-206/207). The $64M expansion opened to patients in March 2026, paid for by the province and $8M from the Bethesda Foundation (CBC).
Jun 2023	Council sponsors a Manitoba municipalities' resolution against provincial “lift-assist” ambulance calls being shifted onto city firefighters (R23-119).
Jul 2023	Up to $10,000 for a family-medicine residents' retreat in Steinbach (R23-153), unanimous.
Mar 2024	Mayor's Doctor Recruitment Task Force created (R24-057), unanimous.
Jul 2024	Task force reports: reserved medical seats, a recruiter at $90,000 per doctor, resident hosting and a $15,000-a-year liaison. No funding vote follows at a recorded meeting.
Apr 2025	The Manitoba municipalities' cities caucus adopts Steinbach's reserved-seats idea as one of five advocacy priorities. In June the city writes to the province asking for a rural medicine stream of 15 seats a year (SteinbachOnline).
Jul 2025	City hosts a dinner for 7 medical residents (SteinbachOnline).
Oct 2025	Support for a four-year medical campus at Brandon University (R25-202), unanimous.
Jan 2026	Mayor: “Doctors are coming.” Councillor Susan Penner: “we actually need more clinic space”, with a clinic-daycare combination under early discussion (SteinbachOnline).
Jul 2026	Maplewood Manor assisted-living expansion (19 beds) approved (R26-133), unanimous.

“I'm hearing on a regular basis from families in our community whose aging parents are being placed all over the Southern Health Region as they're waiting for a care home placement. … it is not uncommon to wait 2 years plus in a community that you didn't— that's not Steinbach.”

Councillor Susan Penner · Jul 7, 2026 · 0:37:06

Healthy living and wellbeing

Council's biggest investment in active living is the Southeast Event Centre, which opened in March 2025 with a gym and walking track. Its total cost was about $74 million, of which the city paid about $30 million. Recreation operating spending rose from $4.6M in 2023 to $6.2M in 2026.

“The pool is, um, a signature recreation facility in Steinbach and gets lots of use. So it's one of these situations where we want to do it before it gets too bad, otherwise it ends up costing significantly more.”

Councillor Susan Penner, moving a $1.8M provincial grant application for the outdoor pool · Sept 16, 2025 · 0:54:26

“It is a challenge to find funding for funding sources that, that will fit recreation projects”

Troy Warkentin, City Manager, noting the pool renewal had been on the capital plan for 10–12 years · Sept 16, 2025 · 0:53:36

“As of 2021, only 7.1% of residents commute by walking or biking. … I would encourage everyone to get out, ride their bikes, go for walks. It's good for physical health.”

Mayor Earl Funk · Aug 5, 2025 · 0:01:47

“So this is an initiative of the province, and it's being completely funded by the province. … And so there's no city tax dollars that are being allocated here.”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra, on joining the provincial Community Safety and Well-Being plan · Feb 6, 2024 · 0:12:19

“this plan really just summarizes what's already happening by wonderful organizations in our community.”

Mayor Earl Funk, on the finished wellbeing plan · Mar 3, 2026 · 0:23:02

“And while loneliness is not a municipal responsibility, the fact is the health and well-being of, of our community is important to us. … So while the financial investments may not always make sense, the investment in the well-being of our city does.”

Councillor Susan Penner, opening remarks · Jun 17, 2025 · 0:01:22

Context

The finished Community Safety and Well-Being plan (2026) lists mental health and addictions as a priority, with goals such as better access to addiction services and a mental-health space at the hospital outside the ER. It also calls for more doctors and nurse practitioners. Every action's timeline is “to be determined”, and no costs are attached (plan). Meanwhile, RCMP Mental Health Act calls rose from 251 to 311 year-to-date between 2025 and 2026 (Sept 15, 2026).

Their reasons for not doing more

1Health care is the province's job

“Healthcare is a provincial and a federal responsibility. It's not a municipal responsibility.”

Councillor Jac Siemens · Aug 20, 2024 · 0:39:23

“Yeah, I agree. I mean, healthcare is a provincial, federal— that's what they take care of. It's their responsibility. Yet we do the seed money, the seed funding, plus we have to do all the lobbying for it as well.”

Mayor Earl Funk · Aug 20, 2024 · 0:39:36

“Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, so obviously municipalities, we can't— we don't run the hospital, we can't dictate health policy, but we could— we can recommend in a focused way some specific solutions”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra · Oct 21, 2025 · 0:59:51

“this is a problem of provincial responsibilities, in this case healthcare, being downloaded to municipalities. … we expect the healthcare to be provided by the province, by the health authority, as opposed to the municipality.”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra, on ambulance lift-assist calls · Jun 6, 2023 · 0:42:54

Context

The principle is right, and Manitoba's municipalities say the same. Even so, according to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, “more than 90 per cent” report doctor shortages, “nearly 95 per cent are allocating financial resources to recruit and retain health practitioners,” and together they spend “more than $1 million” a year (AMM). Steinbach's own retreat and resident dinners are examples of that spending.

2Spend only on narrow, targeted measures

“And one of my big concerns about delving too far into this area is, of course, this is a provincial issue, but it affects municipalities. What I appreciate about the recommendations is that they're very targeted in scope. … Did they give any indication as to do they stay, do these doctors that they recruit stay beyond the 4 years?”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra · Jul 16, 2024 · 0:39:33

“Pick Up and Walk is a success because the local government has enough sense to get out of the way and let churches take the lead. … The reality is that government works best when it does fewer things, not more things.”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra, opening remarks · May 2, 2023 · 0:01:58

Context

Councillor Zwaagstra's question about whether recruited doctors stay is a fair one. Peer programs answer it with conditions: Clarington, Ontario pays $25,000 per doctor (matched by clinics) for a five-year commitment and at least 1,000 patients, with prorated repayment if a doctor leaves early. It has signed four doctors so far (Clarington).

3Some healthy-living projects are too costly for now

“The price tags are very high, and so no one should look at this and assume that, okay, all of this is going to happen in the near term. … When you add this all together, I think it added up to $11 million in total. That won't be happening anytime soon.”

Councillor Michael Zwaagstra, on the Active Transportation Plan · May 6, 2025 · 1:04:17

Context

The plan's roughly $11 million is spread over 20 years, and the federal Active Transportation Fund can cover up to 60% of eligible projects. Winkler, Morden and the RM of Stanley built a 10 km pathway, which also reaches their regional hospital, for about $4.65 million. The three municipalities together paid $750,000, with the rest from federal money and fundraising (Government of Canada).

Part 2 · How Steinbach compares

Scorecard

How Steinbach's council compares with other Canadian councils on health and wellbeing, within a city's powers.

Strong ahead of or matching good practice On par typical practice Partial started, with gaps Gap common elsewhere, not done here

Measure	Steinbach	What others do	Rating
Advocacy for more doctors	Led the reserved-seats idea through the cities caucus; wrote for a 15-seat rural stream; supported a Brandon medical campus.	Most councils lobby; few have driven a provincial priority.	Strong
Money for recruiting doctors	$10,000 retreat (2023) and resident dinners. The task force's ~$20,000-a-year package and recruiter option were never decided in public; no line in the 2026 budget.	~95% of Manitoba municipalities spend on recruitment. Killarney-Turtle Mountain budgeted $245,000 for a recruiter; Clarington pays $25,000 per doctor with conditions.	Partial
Clinic space	Identified as the next bottleneck (2026); a clinic-daycare idea is at an early stage.	Niverville bought its clinic building for $1 and runs it through a council-led board, with a $100,000 town grant for its 2024 expansion.	Gap
Seniors' care	Approves care-home and seniors-housing expansions quickly; care-home waits of 2+ years are raised in council.	Care homes are provincial; councils mainly approve sites and advocate.	On par
Mental health and addictions	Wellbeing plan lists priorities but no timelines or costs; endorsed The Bridge on Third supportive housing.	Councils mostly advocate; the region's rapid-access addiction clinic is in Portage la Prairie.	Partial
Recreation facilities	Event Centre (~$30M city share); recreation spending up 35% since 2023; pool renewal awaiting a provincial grant.	Niverville's $19.5M rec centre (town up to $8.2M); Winkler refurbished its pool for $650,000.	Strong
Walking and cycling	First Active Transportation Plan accepted (2025); ~$11M over 20 years; no projects funded yet.	Winkler–Morden–Stanley 10 km pathway, municipal share $750,000.	Partial
Volunteering and age-friendly	Recognized Age-Friendly Manitoba community since 2012; no current plan or city volunteer program found.	Alberta towns like Okotoks and Lacombe fund volunteer centres and awards through a provincial 80/20 program.	Gap

Key findings

1Advocacy is council's clearest success

Reserving medical seats for rural students was first proposed by Steinbach's task force, and Councillor Susan Penner is credited with the idea. Manitoba's cities caucus adopted it as a priority, and by January 2026 the mayor said a provincial letter promised rural doctors “streamed for family medicine.” It cost the city almost nothing. Its results will take years to show, and no count of doctors recruited has been reported.

2The small money question was left open

The task force's ask was modest by peer standards: about $20,000 a year, plus an optional recruiter fee per doctor. The mayor said in July 2024 that he wanted to “act now”, but no recorded vote followed, and it may have been discussed at an unrecorded study session. The task force's chair worked for Steinbach Economic Development, whose city funding ended in December 2025. Council did not discuss what that means for the liaison role.

3Space, not interest, is the next hurdle, and space is a city tool

Doctors are now interested in Steinbach, but they need somewhere to practise. Land, zoning and building partnerships are municipal tools. Niverville bought its clinic for $1 and runs it through a council-led board with physician and community advisers; its clinic had 12 doctors in 2024 (SteinbachOnline).

4Healthy living: big buildings, small programs

Steinbach has invested heavily in recreation facilities, and the outdoor pool is next. The cheaper levers have lagged: walking and cycling routes have no funded projects yet, the 2012 age-friendly plan hasn't been updated, and the city has no volunteer program. The wellbeing plan's health actions have no owners, timelines or costs.

Peer councils on doctor recruitment

Municipality	Pop.	What council does	Cost / result
Niverville, MB	~6k	Owns the clinic building (bought for $1); council-led clinic board; $100,000 repayable grant for 2024 expansion	12 doctors (2024), 4 more planned
Killarney-Turtle Mountain, MB	~3.4k	Hires a third-party recruiter; recruitment is a standing budget line	$245,000 approved 2023, about half refunded by the health authority; 2 doctors signed 2024
Glenboro-South Cypress, MB	~1.1k	Community co-funded a recruiter 50/50 with the health authority	2 doctors; the health authority ended cost-sharing in 2024
Clarington, ON	~100k	$25,000 per doctor + $25,000 clinic match; 5-year stay; 1,000+ patients; prorated repayment	4 doctors by April 2026
Tillsonburg, ON	~19k	Tiered incentives: nurse practitioner $5,000, family doctor $30,000, hospitalist $55,000	$70,000 in 2026 budget
Melfort, SK	~6k	$20,000 bonus for a two-year stay	1 doctor
Bonnyville, AB	~6k	Committee of doctors, council, foundation and health authority; housing and start-up help	6 doctors in about a year (2015)
Steinbach, MB	~20k+	Task force, advocacy, $10,000 retreat, resident dinners	No recruitment budget line; no count of doctors recruited

What “doing all it can” would add

Decide the task force package in public, about $20,000 a year, and report results each year: residents hosted, doctors recruited, patients attached.
Tackle clinic space with city tools: land, zoning or a Niverville-style partnership for a clinic or clinic-daycare building.
If paying a recruiter or incentive, pay only on success, and tie it to a 4–5-year stay and a minimum patient roster with prorated repayment. Ask Southern Health to cost-share.
Keep pressing for the rural medicine stream and pair it with hosting residents, since doctors often stay where they train.
Give the wellbeing plan's health actions owners, timelines and costs, starting with advocacy for addiction services and a mental-health space at the hospital.
Fund early walking and cycling projects, including routes to the hospital and clinics, using federal Active Transportation money.
Refresh the 2012 age-friendly plan and consider a small volunteer-recognition or volunteer-centre grant. Point local groups to Southern Health's Healthy Together Now grants (up to $10,000 a year).

About this page

Transcripts. Meeting quotes come from automatic transcripts of the official videos. The transcription often misspells the city's name; quotes show it correctly as Steinbach. Other words are left as transcribed. Each quote links to its moment in the video.
Speakers. Every quote is from a speaker identified with high confidence. Council members, city staff and officials are named; residents and representatives of community groups are identified by initials.
Unrecorded meetings. Budget study sessions and the Strategic Priorities Committee aren't recorded, so funding decisions on the task force package, STARS and other grant requests may have been made there.
Figures. Peer figures come from municipal and news sources; populations are approximate. The number of residents without a doctor varies by source.
Coverage. All 103 regular council meetings from January 2022 to September 15, 2026 were searched.

Sources

Council meetings (official YouTube recordings): May 2, 2023 · Jun 6, 2023 · Jul 18, 2023 · Feb 6, 2024 · Mar 5, 2024 · Jul 16, 2024 · Aug 20, 2024 · May 6, 2025 · Jun 17, 2025 · Aug 5, 2025 · Sept 16, 2025 · Oct 21, 2025 · Jan 6, 2026 · Mar 3, 2026 · Jul 7, 2026 · Sept 15, 2026