Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! () is a
parish municipality in the
Témiscouata Regional County Municipality
Témiscouata () is a regional county municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is located southeast of Rivière-du-Loup, bordering New Brunswick, and is centred on Lake Témiscouata. Its seat is Témiscouata-sur-le-La ...
of the
Bas-Saint-Laurent
The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...
region of
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. The population is 1,311 as of 2021.
Its economy is mainly
agricultural
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
. It is located southeast of
Rivière-du-Loup
Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...
and west of
Cabano along the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
(
Route 185), about halfway to
Edmundston
Edmundston () is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1850, it had a population of 16,437 as of 2021.
On January 1, 2023, Edmundston amalgamated with the village of Rivière-Verte, New Brunswick, Rivière-Verte and ...
in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
.
Name
The
Commission de toponymie du Québec
The Commission de toponymie du Québec (, ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicizing Québec's place names and their origins according to th ...
asserts that the parish's name refers to nearby
Lake Témiscouata, the sense of
haha here being an archaic
French word for an impasse;
see
Ha-ha
A ha-ha ( or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the lan ...
. The Louis may refer to Louis Marquis, one of the first colonists of the region, or Louis-Antoine Proulx, vicar of
Rivière-du-Loup
Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...
, or perhaps the abbot Louis-Nicolas Bernier.
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is the only town in the world with two exclamation points in its name, and shares the distinction of having an exclamation point in its name with
Westward Ho!, a village in
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, in south-west
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
In September 2017, the municipality established a
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for the "Most exclamation marks in a town name".
History
The parish began in 1860 as the site of a Catholic mission; it was named in 1874.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population 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 ...
, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
See also
*
Baie des Ha! Ha!: A bay on the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
in the
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada.
The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...
region.
*
Baie des Ha! Ha!: A bay on the
Saguenay River in the
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada on the Labrador Peninsula. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the fi ...
region.
*
Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone
*
Hamilton!, Ohio, United States, city that briefly added an exclamation point to its name
*
List of parish municipalities in Quebec
This is a list of municipalities that have the Quebec municipal type of parish municipality (''paroisse'', code=P), an administrative division defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy.
The ''Commission de topony ...
*
Rivière Ha! Ha!: A river in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
*
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences (founded as Hot Springs) is a city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen t ...
, United States; a town that renamed itself after a radio show
*
Westward Ho!, a village in
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
References
External links
*
*
*
:fr:Ha! Ha! , a disambiguation page in the French Wikipedia for "Ha! Ha!" place names in Quebec
{{authority control
Parish municipalities in Quebec
Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent
Populated places established in 1860