Steinbach city councillor seeks PC nomination

A long-time City of Steinbach councillor announced his intent to seek the PC nomination for Steinbach, following the announcement of the pending retirement of MLA Kelvin Goertzen.

Michael Zwaagstra, a local teacher, councillor and deputy mayor of Steinbach, said the time was right.

“This has obviously been an area of interest for me for some time” he said, noting he was involved in Goertzen’s campaigns from the first in 2003.

“I thought it was an opportunity to apply some of my skills to another level of government and I think it’s important that the Steinbach constituency has strong representation.”

Zwaagstra has worked for Hanover School Division since 2000 and is currently vice-principal of Green Valley School in Grunthal.

First elected to Steinbach city council in 2006, he is currently on his fifth term. He also serves as vice-chair of the Steinbach Bible College board of directors and is board chair of Life Culture.

He said the region has had very strong representation from Kelvin Goertzen for over 20 years, saying Goertzen has passion for the constituency and has worked hard to ensure it receives its fair share from the province.

Examples include the Bethesda Regional Health Centre expansion, intersection upgrades and the Southeast Event Centre.

“Kelvin played a key role in advocating for those, and I certainly would want to push for Steinbach to get that sort of support as well,” he said.

Zwaagstra said he would continue to stand up for the constituency’s values.

“We are a can-do kind of community,” he said. “We value business and we value having fewer regulations rather than more regulations because we know that the best initiatives tend to come from the private sector as opposed to government.”

Zwaagstra said the region also promotes strong families and churches.

“You take the Pick Up and Walk as a prime example of just what happens in Steinbach when the faith-based community gets together,” he said. It’s important that we have people in the legislature that recognize the importance of the faith-based community, and Steinbach exemplifies that quite well.”

The annual Pick Up and Walk event sees churches come together in the annual community clean-up.

He said his work ethic and record will show people what type of candidate he would be.

“I’m willing to stand up for things that I think are important and to challenge things that I think need to be challenged,” he said. “I’ve also learned, especially over the last few years of the importance of being willing to compromise, when necessary, in order to get things done.”

Achieving compromise may be simpler in a municipal setting where party politics has no role.

“Going into a more partisan environment to the legislature, obviously I would represent my party because I am a Conservative, that is always what I’ve stood for,” he said. “But I would hope to take some of what I’ve learned at the municipal level as it is possible to work with people who think differently on things.”

A Probe Research poll conducted in December shows the PC Party receiving about 32 percent of support in the province. That’s remained relatively consistent throughout 2025.

Zwaagstra said the party has already been working on improving that starting with developing clear policy so voters will know what they stand for.

“The only way we can form government is if we can win more Winnipeg seats,” he said. “We need to be mindful to make sure that our platform and the things we stand for will appeal to people in Winnipeg along with the other parts of the province.”

He gave credit to PC Leader Obby Khan for beginning that process and also involving other voices including his opposition in the leadership race, Wally Daudrich.

“We need to be a party that brings people together, that puts forward a positive vision and some things we clearly stand for,” he said.

Endorsements

Zwaagstra has received endorsements from two key Conservatives in the region.

Provencher MP Ted Falk expressed his support.

“Michael Zwaagstra has a proven track record of standing up for conservative values and getting practical results for the people he represents,” he wrote in the news release.

Don Plett, the former senator from Landmark agreed.

“I have known Michael Zwaagstra for many years as a man of strong character and a commitment to conservative values and principles, both fiscally and socially,” he wrote. “Not just during elections but he truly lives these principles between elections.”

Zwaagstra will serve out his term on council and if he wins the PC nomination will not put his name forward to run for council in the next municipal election scheduled for fall.

No date for the nomination meeting has been set.