Manitoba town seeing population boom brought on by the pandemic

A Manitoba town south of Winnipeg is experiencing a boom in its population and is trying to keep up with its recent popularity.

Île-des-Chênes saw the boom during the pandemic as more people worked from home and decided to move remotely as well.

"I've got families that move out. I've got a lot of people who like to commute, single people buying a lot of the condos," said Dan Vermette, a real estate agent in the area who has been dealing with a lot of people moving to the town.

Lori van der Meer, the co-owner of van der Meer Greenhouses, said she has noticed the growth in town and at her business, especially during the pandemic.

"People wanted product. They wanted to grow and maybe this year, people are going to want to grow more vegetables," she said.

The RM of Richot Mayor Chris Ewen estimates as many as 1,000 people have moved to Île-des-Chênes in the last three years and at least 200 new homes have been built.

"Our building permits during the pandemic just blasted through the roof. There's no other way to put it," said Ewans.

The town could even double in size as Île-des-Chênes East is in a different municipality – the RM of Tache.

Ewen said his municipality is proposing the land get annexed.

For van der Meer, she lives in the Île-des-Chênes East and said having the land annexed wouldn't make a difference as she already does most of her day to day activities in Île-des-Chênes.

What has made a difference to her is her growing customer base. She moved her greenhouse from the outskirts into town.

"There's many people in the area, that if they don't drive past us, they don't know we're around. This is going to be a game changer," said van der Meer.

Vermette expects the town will keep growing.

"We offer more for your money in Île-des-Chênes. I think that's what drives a lot of people (here)," said Vermette.

The RM of Richot is hosting a town hall Monday to discuss the land annexation proposal.