Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is a quaint parish municipality nestled in the Témiscouata Regional County Municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. With a population of 1,311, this charming community thrives on an economy that is primarily agricultural. Conveniently located southeast of Rivière-du-Loup and west of Cabano, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is situated along the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 185), making it a halfway point to Edmundston in New Brunswick.
The history of Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! dates back to 1860 when it was the site of a Catholic mission. The parish was officially named in 1874. In September 2017, the municipality made its mark in the Guinness World Record for having the "Most exclamation marks in a town name", adding a unique touch to its historical significance.
The Commission de toponymie du Québec explains that the parish's name, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, refers to the nearby Lake Témiscouata. The term 'haha' is an archaic French word for an impasse. The 'Louis' in the name could be a reference to Louis Marquis, one of the region's first colonists, Louis-Antoine Proulx, the vicar of Rivière-du-Loup, or perhaps the abbot Louis-Nicolas Bernier. Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! holds the unique distinction of being the only town in the world with two exclamation points in its name. It shares the honor of having an exclamation point in its name with Westward Ho!, a village in Devon, South-West England.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! had a population of 1,311 living in 552 of its 594 total private dwellings. This represented a change of 1.5% from its 2016 population of 1,292. With a land area of 112.23 km2 (43.33 sq mi), Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! had a population density of 11.7/km2 (30.3/sq mi) in 2021.
