Port Louis is located on the west coast of Graham Island, the larger of the two main islands of Haida Gwaii
This place is valued because its association with the French explorer Etienne Marchand and his crew, who surveyed the coast along Parry Passage and along the coast of Graham Island. Marchand was in charge of an expedition around the world aboard his ship Le Solide from 1790 to 1792. Though the Solide expedition was the second successful circumnavigation by the French, the voyage remains little known because it was primarily a commercial venture rather than one driven by exploration. The voyage landing on Haida Gwaii precedes the arrival of Alexander Mackenzie to the territory from the east by land in 1793.
Port Louis and nearby Port Chanal were named after Marchand’s his brother, Louis Marchand, and second in command, Captain Chanal respectively.