A Journey from Rural Roots to Modern Municipality

How one Manitoba municipality balances rural character with strategic growth to meet changing community needs

Spanning over 728 square kilometers north of Winnipeg, the Rural Municipality of St. Clements offers residents the increasingly sought-after balance of rural living with accessible urban amenities. As municipalities across Canada compete to attract residents seeking alternatives to dense city living, St. Clements showcases how strategic planning can create thriving communities that preserve rural character while meeting modern needs.

“For most people in our municipality, it’s the closeness to all amenities that makes it attractive,” says Mayor Debbie Fiebelkorn. “We’re very rural in some areas, while other areas are more compact and residential. We also have substantial cottage country within our boundaries.” This geographic diversity has positioned St. Clements as a regional leader, with its incorporation dating back to 1884.

The region’s rich history continues to shape its identity today. “We had the railway coming through here many years ago, bringing people to the roundhouse when immigrants were arriving,” notes Fiebelkorn. “We have the Dynevor Old Stone Church, one of the oldest Anglican churches in Western Canada.” This historical foundation anchors the municipality’s modern approach to governance and development.

A Municipality of Distinct Communities

St. Clements’ unique geography creates a tapestry of interconnected yet distinct communities, each with its own character and development needs. “We have four major settlement areas which help provide services,” explains Deepak Joshi, the municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer. “Lockport and South St. Clements are closest to Winnipeg and have higher density in some areas. We border the river that connects through it, and we’re connected by the Lockport Historical Dam—a significant structure that bridges us to our sister community of St. Andrews on the other side.”

The municipality’s geographic diversity ranges from East Selkirk, which Joshi describes as “almost urban, situated opposite to the city of Selkirk across the river,” to smaller communities like Libau, “a small-town hamlet scenario.” Perhaps the most distinctive are the eastern beaches of Lake Winnipeg, with Grand Marais as the major settlement area surrounded by numerous beach communities along the shoreline.

These settlement patterns challenge traditional approaches to municipal services. Unlike more compact urban centers, St. Clements must deliver infrastructure and amenities across a vast territory while maintaining local character and meeting diverse community needs.

“We are part of a regional planning group called the Red River Planning District,” notes Joshi. “There are five communities—St. Andrews, West St. Paul, East St. Paul, St. Clements, and Dunnottar—that are all part of this planning district.”

At the local level, St. Clements employs secondary plans and tax incentive financing to guide development in specific areas. “We’ve instituted tax incentive financing for upgrading infrastructure,” Joshi states. “This helps increase density while providing a more walkable and safer community. The infrastructure improvements will help bring in further development while respecting the parks and natural assets that make our communities special.”

Infrastructure and Planning

Infrastructure development in St. Clements demonstrates how rural municipalities can leverage regional cooperation to maximize limited resources. “One big focus for us is collaboration with other municipalities,” says Joshi. “With St. Andrews on the other side of the river—a sister community that occupies almost the same land mass as us—we are in the process of sharing water resources. We have a large water treatment plant servicing our Lockport area and East Selkirk, and both councils have agreed to develop a program to share that infrastructure to support further development.”

This cross-boundary approach extends to other neighboring communities. “With East St. Paul, which is smaller but denser in nature and close to Winnipeg, we’re looking at sharing water and sewer infrastructure. Both councils have passed resolutions to plan and collaborate wherever possible on infrastructure projects,” Joshi notes.

The infrastructure strategy aligns with the municipality’s development plans for key settlement areas. St. Clements has implemented tax increment financing (TIF) in areas like East Selkirk, enabling the municipality to reinvest new tax revenue from development back into infrastructure improvements that facilitate further growth.

“We are in the midst of doing development in different areas of the municipality where services are provided,” explains Mayor Fiebelkorn. “There are some areas in the municipality where we do not have many services, but where services exist, we’re definitely focusing on bringing more people into our community.”

A centerpiece infrastructure project demonstrates the municipality’s community-building focus. “We are constructing a community building at the south end of our municipality that will serve not only our residents but those from surrounding communities,” says the mayor. “It’s been a project in the works for many years, and I’m very happy it will finally be completed. The facility is on a five-acre parcel with a walking trail, lake, playground, and historical information signs showing the history of the area.”

Housing Initiatives to Meet Diverse Needs in a Growing Region

St. Clements is tackling housing challenges through research-driven approaches that address affordability, diversity, and accessibility, key concerns across Manitoba’s housing market. With Manitoba’s population growing approximately 2% annually, municipalities like St. Clements are under pressure to increase housing supply while maintaining community character.

“We conducted a housing study and housing accessibility and affordability assessment for the entire municipality,” Joshi explains. “We’ve introduced incentives and completed secondary planning to accommodate higher density development. We recently approved rezoning for a 110-unit multifamily rental housing project in East Selkirk to meet specific needs in that area.”

The municipality’s comprehensive approach includes diversifying housing options in areas with aging demographics. “Due to demographic changes in East Selkirk, we’re looking at providing additional ranges of housing types to address affordability,” says Joshi. “We’ve sold land that the RM owned right beside our office to accommodate 56 unit row-type housing, introducing greater density into our settlement area.”

Supporting infrastructure for young families represents another strategic priority. “We’ve worked with our metro region group to secure funding for a new daycare in East Selkirk,” notes Joshi. “This helps support younger families moving into the area by providing the services they need.”

The municipality has also expanded water and sewer services in key growth areas. “We’ve introduced water and sewer services in both Lockport and East Selkirk, creating more opportunities for various housing types to meet market demands,” Joshi adds. “The incremental taxes from new development are then reinvested into infrastructure to encourage further development and reduce housing costs.”

Mayor Fiebelkorn emphasizes the importance of housing variety in the municipality’s development strategy. “We would love to see more residential growth. Some developers are looking to create smaller lots with single-family dwellings. We have one approved project awaiting construction, and we have significant undeveloped land. I’ve lived here all my life and would like to see these areas grow faster with diverse housing options available to current and prospective residents.”

Regional Partnerships That Work

St. Clements exemplifies how rural municipalities can amplify their impact through strategic partnerships. “We have several valued partnerships that are integral to moving forward as a municipality,” says Joshi. “We’re part of the Winnipeg Regional group, which includes 18 communities surrounding Winnipeg that work together on joint planning, development, and specific projects like fiber internet infrastructure.”

This regional approach has evolved into formal economic development structures. “We’ve established a corporation between 13 like-minded municipalities called John Q Public,” Joshi explains. “It functions as the economic development arm of these communities, generating revenue that can be shared among all participating municipalities.”

Infrastructure collaboration represents another successful partnership model. “Our infrastructure collaboration with neighboring communities like St. Andrews and East St. Paul helps ensure we’re utilizing scarce infrastructure dollars in the most efficient manner,” notes Joshi. “This approach protects our environment and helps avoid groundwater contamination from septic fields common in rural areas.”

Recreation and cultural services benefit from similar cooperative arrangements. “We’re working with the City of Selkirk for library services through a regional library located in their urban center,” Joshi states. “All surrounding communities contribute to this shared resource. We also have a coordinated agreement between communities to the north for our east beaches area, focusing on recreation and tourism promotion.”

The municipality also cultivates productive relationships with indigenous communities. “We have a very good relationship with the indigenous populations within our community,” Joshi adds. “We’re in a unique situation with the Brokenhead Ojibwe Nation Reserve completely within our municipality. They operate a large casino, and there’s significant sharing and collaboration between our governments.”

Preparing for Environmental Challenges

St. Clements’ approach to sustainability focuses on practical solutions to immediate environmental threats, particularly the increasing flood risks that affect many Manitoba communities. Located in the Red River Basin, where spring flooding has historically caused significant damage, the municipality has developed strategies that combine traditional flood mitigation with innovative planning approaches.

“We’ve been working on sustainability and addressing the impact of climate change on flooding in our area,” says Joshi. “As a member of the Eastern Watershed District, we’re exploring different methodologies for water storage, retention, and design to minimize the impact of flooding from spring events to major unanticipated rainfall and weather events.”

Infrastructure resilience has become a central focus following recent climate anomalies. “Last year we experienced unprecedented warm weather in mid-winter followed by a freeze-up, which significantly impacted our gravel roads,” Joshi explains. “They thawed and then froze again with frost coming through, affecting road stability and creating millions of dollars in damage that we had to repair.”

The municipality has responded by incorporating climate adaptation into its planning and design processes. “We’re examining how to avoid those scenarios through improved methods and operations,” notes Joshi. “Our new activity center includes a dual-purpose lake that also functions as a retention pond during high-water events. It can be fed with groundwater to maintain lake levels and can be partially drained to accommodate surface water during potential flooding.”

This multi-functional approach to infrastructure design reflects growing awareness among Manitoba municipalities that climate resilience requires integrating flood management into community amenities rather than treating it as separate infrastructure. The approach aligns with provincial watershed management priorities that emphasize natural water retention and controlled drainage.

Priorities for St. Clements’ Future

St. Clements’ leadership has outlined clear priorities for the municipality’s near-term development, focusing on housing, recreation, and commercial growth. “One of our top priorities is to have more housing throughout the municipality,” states Mayor Fiebelkorn. “We’ve worked hard on applications for the federal accelerator fund. So far, we haven’t been successful, but we believe we’re still in consideration. I would like to see that process move forward to support our housing initiatives.”

Expanding recreational opportunities represents another key focus area. “In the next couple of years, I want to see more outdoor recreation—walking trails, baseball diamonds, winter skating rinks,” the mayor explains. “We have some facilities, but with cottage country residents only present for certain months, we need to examine how we can provide more recreational options for seasonal visitors.”

Commercial development remains essential for creating complete communities. The municipality’s business development strategy includes both infrastructure and service components. “Council has committed to being open for business and created an economic development position within the RM,” says Joshi. “We recognize that increasing housing and population in settlement areas makes it viable for businesses like grocery stores and coffee shops to establish themselves, which is beginning to happen in East Selkirk.”

As St. Clements moves forward, its balanced approach to growth illustrates how rural municipalities can succeed by embracing their distinctive character while pursuing strategic development that enhances quality of life for current and future residents alike.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Rural Municipality of St. Clements

What: A 728-square-kilometer municipality with diverse communities ranging from rural agricultural areas to lakeside cottage developments

Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Website: www.rmofstclements.com