Steinbach enjoyed a resurgence in housing construction last year. The city has released the final building permits numbers for the year. Just over $57 million worth of building permits were issued and there were 233 housing starts, the most since the boom years of 2011 and 2012. Mayor Chris Goertzen says it was good to see the bounce back after a couple of lean years, especially 2016 when housing starts dropped to only 50.

"We had two years where it was a little bit quieter and then, very quickly, it came back because there was a need. There was a need for housing for people. We saw that clearly in 2017, that response of builders and developers making sure that we have enough places for people to live. We will continue to see that happen in 2018."

The total value of permits last year, at just over $57 million, is well off the all-time record of $122 million in 2012. There were several major commercial projects in 2012 that resulted in that record. But Goertzen says last year's number is still significant.

"It's a huge investment in our community and it really talks to what's happening Steinbach, how people are excited about moving here, how they're excited about doing business here and we look forward to having another good year in 2018."