Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
GRAND OPENING CEREMONY OF THE SOUTHEAST EVENT CENTRE
321 Elmdale, Steinbach
Thursday, August 21, 2025, 11:00 a.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, friends of a wonderful new community gathering place – it’s a pleasure to join you for today’s celebration.
As we celebrate an addition to the cultural life of Manitoba, I acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty One land and on the homeland of the Red River Metis. The province we share is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, and Dene nations and the homeland of the Red River Métis and on northern lands were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
As Manitobans, we are committed to human rights, to dignity for all people, and to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
I would also like to acknowledge the thousands of Manitobans who have been forced from their homes by wildfires this summer. We are grateful for the everyday heroes who continue to fight hard to protect communities throughout the province and provide support to those in need.
For decades, Steinbach has played an outsize role in the economic development of Manitoba. With a diversified economy that creates employment in the agricultural, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial sectors – and more – Steinbach’s steady growth has fueled prosperity in southeastern Manitoba and beyond.
At the same time, Steinbach has worked to maintain a strong sense of community and a lifestyle that offers opportunities for the whole family.
With the development of the Southeast Event Centre, Steinbach has another great amenity that will further enrich life in this corner of the province.
This facility will bring the people of Steinbach and the surrounding region together for sports, concerts, festivals, performances and gatherings of all kinds.
It will attract exciting touring shows and inspire local performers to imagine their name in lights.
A facility like this takes years of fund-raising and planning before the first shovels go in the ground. It takes visionaries who can look at an empty space and imagine a large multi-purpose event centre filled with smiling and cheering people. And it takes people with the passion and commitment to make those visions come to life.
I would like to thank all of those whose generosity and work made this addition to our province’s cultural and sports infrastructure possible. And to all who will enjoy this centre, congratulations on this milestone in Steinbach’s history.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich and Shalom to all
