A Steinbach resident dedicated to promoting business investment from overseas has decided to run for City Council.

Mitesh Kumar arrived in Canada as a student ten years ago. After living in Toronto and then Calgary, Kumar settled in Steinbach in 2016 because it fit his definition for what a city and home should be.

Mitesh Kumar (Photo credit: Mitesh Kumar)Kumar is a licensed immigration consultant. He says there is a misconception out there that if elected he would like to increase immigration to Steinbach. Rather, his intent is to bring immigration investment related to business. He says his expertise will help the city collaborate with other parties, affiliates and cities to develop a system where Steinbach can promote and work with local businesses in order to grow investment from overseas.

According to Kumar, this then could help fund larger projects such as a potential performing arts centre.

"We should not be taking money out from the citizens," he explains. "We are already at a higher level than many other cities."

Kumar says it is his goal to promote Steinbach as one of the best places to live in Canada. This will then hopefully interest other Canadians to move to Steinbach. And, when you factor in the additional dollars coming from overseas investment, Kumar says this should lead to more funds being available for city projects.

Kumar is also passionate about offering a bus service to residents of Steinbach. He says it would really benefit women, students and elderly people. Kumar says it could start off with very basic hours in the morning and afternoon and eventually expand. He notes it would also be great to grow the service to have a Winnipeg connection, assisting those who commute to and from Manitoba's capital city.

According to Kumar, his goal is to bring best practices and also to grow technology within city departments. He thinks spending a little money up front would result in long-term savings when it comes to informing residents digitally of things like garbage collection days, emergency plans, business directories, financial summaries and tax bills.

And finally, Kumar says his priority is to be a voice for reasonable moderation when it comes to by-laws, processes and fees related to things like self-employment, daycare, senior care, secondary suites and health.

Kumar says he has already starting knocking on doors as part of his election campaign and has been receiving a very good response. Rather than focus fulltime on his business or job, Kumar says if elected he wants to be a fulltime councillor and always remain accessible to residents.