Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!
Parish municipality in Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ lwi dy a a]) is a parish municipality in the Témiscouata Regional County Municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. The population is 1,311 as of 2021.[3] Its economy is mainly agricultural. It is located southeast of Rivière-du-Loup and west of Cabano along the Trans-Canada Highway (A-85), about halfway to Edmundston in New Brunswick.
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: | |
 Location within Témiscouata RCM | |
  Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! Location in eastern Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 47°40′13″N 68°58′54″W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Bas-Saint-Laurent |
| RCM | Témiscouata |
| Named | 1874 |
| Constituted | 14 July 1874 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mélissa Lord |
| • Federal riding | Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata |
| • Prov. riding | Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata |
| Area | |
• Total | 112.23 km2 (43.33 sq mi) |
| • Land | 110.08 km2 (42.50 sq mi) |
| The provincial and federal governments disagree on the total area; the latter makes no claim regarding the land area. | |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,311 |
| • Density | 11.7/km2 (30/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  1.5% |
| • Dwellings | 594 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways |   A-85 (TCH) |
| Website | www |
The origin of the ‘Ha! Ha!’ in this municipality’s name has been the subject of various interpretations, some of which are considered fanciful. Among the hypotheses put forward is that it derives from the Wendat or Innu word ‘ahaha’, meaning ‘path’, or from the Indigenous word ‘hexcuewaska’, which means ‘something unexpected’. This latter meaning is linked to another interpretation from the same source, namely the expression ‘Ah! Ah!’, which the first travellers are said to have exclaimed in amazement upon arriving at Lake Témiscouata and realising its beauty. The Commission de toponymie du Québec asserts that the parish's name refers to nearby Lake Témiscouata, the sense of ha-ha here being an archaic French word for an impasse.[4] The Louis may refer to Louis Marquis, one of the first colonists of the region, or Louis-Antoine Proulx, vicar of Rivière-du-Loup, or perhaps the abbé Louis-Nicolas Bernier.[1]
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is the only town in the world with two exclamation marks in its name. (Westward Ho!, in Devon, England has a single exclamation mark in its name.) In September 2017, the municipality established a Guinness World Record for the most exclamation marks in a town name.[5]
History
The parish began in 1860 as the site of a Catholic mission; it was named in 1874.[6]
Demographics
In 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, a change of 1.5% from its 2016 population of 1,292. With a land area of 112.23 km2 (43.33 sq mi), it had a population density of 11.7/km2 (30.3/sq mi) in 2021.[7]
See also
- Baie des Ha! Ha!: A bay on the Saint Lawrence River in the Côte-Nord region.[8]
- Baie des Ha! Ha!: A bay on the Saguenay River in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.[9]
- Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone
- Hamilton, Ohio, United States: A city that briefly added an exclamation point to its name
- List of parish municipalities in Quebec
- Rivière Ha! Ha!: A river in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.[10]
- Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, United States; a town that renamed itself after a radio show
- Westward Ho!, a village in Devon, England
