Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

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Louisbourg (2001 pop.: 1,157) is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

The name was given by French military forces who founded a large fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour (see Fortress Louisbourg), in honour of Louis XV. Pronounced "Lewisburg" by its largely English-speaking population, the present community has been identified by slightly different spellings over the years by both locals and visitors: "Louisbourg" and "Louisburg". The latter name was formalized by the Sydney and Louisburg Railway which used Louisbourg Harbour's ice-free waters as a winter coal port. The spelling Louisbourg is formally recognized as the correct version by the Geographic Names Board of Canada and by Nova Scotia's coordinator for geographic names. The town's name originally was "Louisburg". On 6 April 1966, the Nova Scotia Legislature passed "An Act to Change the Name of the Town of Louisburg," changing the name to the Town of Louisbourg.

Incorporated in 1901, the Town of Louisbourg was disincorporated when all municipal units in Cape Breton County were merged into a single tier regional municipality in 1995.