Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia.

The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, naming it in honour of Louis XIV.

The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'Anglois, the French settlement that dated from 1713.

[2] English settlers subsequently built a small fishing village across the harbour from the abandoned site of the fortress.

[3] 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.

The depletion of groundfish stocks has negatively affected local fish processing operations in recent decades.

Today this National Historic Site of Canada is the town's dominant economic engine, employing many residents and attracting thousands of tourists every year.