Gladstone, Manitoba

Gladstone is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of WestLake – Gladstone within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 34. The Gladstone railway station receives Via Rail service.

History
The first known name for the area was Third Crossing, as it was situated at the third crossing of a prairie trail over the Whitemud River. When settlement became significant in 1872 the community was renamed to Palestine.

In 1879, the community was renamed a third and final time to Gladstone, after the British Prime Minister of the time William Ewart Gladstone. On 18 July 1882, the community was incorporated as the Town of Gladstone.

On the first day of 2015, the town amalgamated with the communities of Lakeview and Westbourne, creating the present-day Municipality of WestLake – Gladstone, of which Gladstone is now a part of as an unincorporated urban community.

Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gladstone had a population of 928 living in 407 of its 443 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 889. With a land area of 2.39 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Happy Rock
Gladstone is often referred to as "Happy Rock", a play on the community's name: "happy" being another word for "glad", and "rock being another word for "stone".

This is the name given to the community's monument located along Highway 16, acting as the symbol and mascot of the community. The Happy Rock monument also acts as the visitor information centre and is a vital part of tourism in the community. On July 5, 2010, Canada Post made a commemorative stamp of the Happy Rock as part of its Roadside Attractions collection.

Railway station
Gladstone is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg–Churchill train.

Notable people

 * W. L. Morton, Canadian historian
 * Andy Murray, former NHL head coach
 * David Guillas, guitarist, former member of Propagandhi, currently plays in the band Agassiz