The municipality is named after Jean-Baptiste Leporquier de Launay, a military commander and captain of the Guyenne Regiment from the mid-18th century.

Its first school was built in 1922, and its post office opened the following year (which closed in 1956).

In 1971, the Canadian National railway company closed Launay Station, which was demolished in 1988.

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the incumbent Sébastien Lemire of the Bloc Québécois was re-elected to represent the population Launay in the House of Commons of Canada.

In the 2022 Quebec general election the incumbent MNA Suzanne Blais, of the Coalition Avenir Québec, was re-elected to represent the population of Launay in the National Assembly of Quebec.