Steinbach () (Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eastman region. The city is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Hanover to the north, west, and south, and the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie to the east. Steinbach was first settled by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from the Russian Empire in 1874, whose descendants continue to have a significant presence in the city today. Steinbach is found on the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, while Sandilands Provincial Forest is a short distance east of the city. Steinbach's economy has traditionally been focused around agriculture; however, as the regional economic hub of southeastern Manitoba, Steinbach now has a trading area population of about 50,000 people and significant employment in the financial services industry, automobile sales, tourism, retail, and manufacturing. The city had a population growth of 11.1% between 2016 and 2021 and has gained national recognition as an immigration destination of Canada and a model for immigrant integration in the country. Etymology Steinbach means "Stony Brook" in German. Steinbach's stony brook was drained sometime after settlement. Low German-Mennonites named the town Steinbach in 1874, after a village also called Steinbach in Borosenko colony, Ukraine. History Treaty 1 and the East Reserve After the Assiniboine and Cree First Nations left the region in the 1820s, the Anishinabe hunted in and moved seasonally through the area on their way to the burial grounds in the Whiteshell. A bison trail ran alongside the Steinbach Creek on the far eastern edge of the Canadian prairies, a trail that was used by First Nations people for a number of years after settlement. In 1871, the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland and Anishinabe people signed Treaty 1, after which time the Canadian government began recruiting European farmers to the region, establishing the English and Scottish settlement of Clear Springs in 1872, just north of the present day location of Steinbach, and partially contained within the modern city limits. At the time of English and Scottish settlement, the nearest settled area was 17 km north in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, a Métis village founded 17 years earlier in 1856. In 1873, the Canadian government sent William Hespeler to recruit Russian Mennonites to move to the area. By the 1870s, some Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites in