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Canada’s history dates back centuries, plenty of time for us to acquire our share of unique town names that remain to this day. While there are many place names based in the rich Indigenous history the country we know today is built on, there are also quite a few towns with names born in other ways.
Today, we’ll examine just a few along with thoughts on the origins of the names, whether known, suspected, or dubious.
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Quebec
Our list must start with a Guinness World Records holder for the most exclamation marks in a town name—it has two—beating out such competition as Westward Ho! in Devon, England, and Hamilton!, Ohio, that made the change to include the mark, but doesn’t use it in practice.
The jocular sounding “Ha! Ha!” in the name of the parish municipality most likely stems from an archaic French word for “impasse.” The “haha” in question is likely the long and lovely Lac Témiscouata to the east of the town. There are at least three contenders for the identity of “Louis,” but no definitive account exists for Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, which was founded in 1860 and named in 1874. The municipality is located 478 kilometres northeast from Montreal, close to the Quebec-New Brunswick border.
Goobies, Newfoundland and Labrador
Sparsely populated Newfoundland and Labrador might have more than its fair share of unique place names. Local service districts (LSDs) are local administrations set up to “provide certain services to communities or areas that have similar needs within a community or geographic zone.” One such LSD on the north side of the isthmus connecting the Avalon Peninsula is Goobies. You can visit Goobies Station and Goobies Siding, or grab a bite and a fill-up at Goobies Big Stop. The source of the unique name? It’s from the surname of LSD chair Bill Goobie—and it’s pure Newfoundland and Labrador.
Punkydoodle’s Corners, Ontario
While there’s no concrete story as to how Punkydoodle’s Corners got its name, the most popular theory is that during the 19th century, the local tavern owner would often sing “Yankee Doodle” to all his patrons. But, due to his strong German accent it sounded much more like “punky doodle”. No matter where the name comes from, one thing’s for sure: people love it. The small mining village located within the Waterloo regional district was victim to frequent sign theft—so much so, they stopped replacing it.
Youbou, British Columbia
Located along Cowichan Lake—one of the largest bodies of freshwater on Vancouver Island—Youbou, British Columbia, is a coastal community where visitors can enjoy a beach and outdoor activities including fishing, boating, and hiking. Youbou was originally known as Cottonwood, however after the Empire Lumber Company started operations in the area more than 100 years ago, it became known as a milltown. In 1926, the name changed to Youbou after two employees of Empire Lumber Company—Mr. Yount, the general manager, and Mr. Bouton, the president. The sawmill shut down in 2001, but the town continues on.
Flin Flon, Manitoba
It could have been Flintabbatey Flonatin. Instead, the hero of a dime store science fiction magazine got abbreviated to Flin Flon, which is now the name of a mining city in Northern Manitoba. Old Flinty still stands at the Flin Flon Tourist Park, and it was designed in part by L’il Abner cartoonist Al Capp. Prospectors adopted the name of the character, who was something of a miner himself, piloting a submarine into a gold vein while sailing through a bottomless lake. Instead, it was copper and zinc that drove development of Flin Flon. On a side note, just 10 kilometres south of town, you can visit Canada’s most northerly drive-in cinema.
Other unique town names
In addition to those five, here are some other unique town names across Canada, and a bit about where they come from!
- Meat Cove, Nova Scotia: the town is now well-known for its seafood chowder, but the name reportedly comes from the area’s popularity with hunters in its early days.
- Happyland, Saskatchewan: it’s as simple as it sounds—one of the first people in the area was just delighted to settle here, thus, “Happyland.”
- Radville, Saskatchewan: totally tubular! Radville was named after Conrad Paquin who first acquired the land.
- Milk River, Alberta: the journals of Lewis and Clarke explained the river of the same name, which runs through the town, “possesses a peculiar whiteness, being about the [colour] of a cup of tea with the admixture of a tablespoon of milk.”
- Tiny, Ontario: the name has nothing to do with the town’s population—just under 12,000 people if you’re curious. It’s actually named after the dog of a 19th century Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada’s wife.
- Peekaboo Corner, New Brunswick: the locality gets its name from a poorly-placed house which blocked the view around the corner.
It makes a certain Canuck sense that we’re blessed with the unique when it comes to place names. Let’s hope it’s a Canadian identity we never lose.
