Gilbert Plains is an unincorporated urban community in the

Gilbert Plains Municipality Gilbert Plains Municipality is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History The RM was incorporated on January 1, 2015, via the amalgamation of the RM of Gilbert Plains and the Town of Gilbert Plains. It was form ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, that was classified as a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

prior to January 1, 2015. It is situated on the

Valley River The Valley River is a tributary of the Hiwassee River. It arises as a pair of springs in the Snowbird Mountains of Cherokee County, North Carolina and descends in elevation in approximately to enter the Hiwassee embayment at present-day Mu ...

, in the

Parkland Region Parkland is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba, located between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis on the east and the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border on the west. The largest population centre is the city of Dauphin, ...

between

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area of , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the ...

and Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Gilbert Plains was featured during season 3 of the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

program '' Still Standing''. The episode originally aired on September 5, 2017.

History

Incorporated in 1906, the original townsite was some miles to the south. The community was named for Gilbert Ross, a

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

man who was living in the region when the first

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

settler,

Glenlyon Campbell Glenlyon Archibald Campbell (October 3, 1863 – October 20, 1917) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1903 to 1908, and in the House of Commons of Canada from 1908 to 1911. Campbell ...

, arrived. On 1 January 2015, the Town of Gilbert Plains relinquished its town status when it amalgamated with the

Rural Municipality of Gilbert Plains In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

to form the Gilbert Plains Municipality.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Gilbert Plains had a population of 773 living in 356 of its 407 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 785. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Media

A local newspaper, ''The Exponent'', serviced both Gilbert Plains and its neighboring town, Grandview. ''The Exponent'' closed on 24 February 2017, after 117 years of operation. A weekly non-profit newspaper, ''The Plain View,'' published its first issue on 5 June 2018, and has been running ever since. It serves both Gilbert Plains and Grandview.

Transportation

The community is located on Highway 5 and the CN

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line between Dauphin and Grandview, approximately northwest of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Gilbert Plains railway station receives

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

service. The community previously had an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Climate

References