It is located on and contiguous with Île Verte (French for "Green Island") in the Estuary of St. Lawrence, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of Rivière-du-Loup.

[1] On 10 June 1816, half the Nova Scotia Fencibles, some 210 officers and other ranks, together with 48 wives and children, were on board the Archduke Charles when it wrecked near Green Island.

[citation needed] In 1874, the municipality was formed out of the parish of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste on 18 November, which led to its name "Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs" since this date corresponded to the Day of Our Lady of Sorrows on the liturgical calendar at that time.

The community formed in isolation and life on the island was governed by traditional customs, so people had little need for municipal management, which would have been a family affair anyway.

[5] Mother tongue (2021):[3] Thanks to its isolation, the island has preserved its high-quality architectural heritage, such as the Île-Verte Lighthouse, and a rural landscape from another era that is attracting more and more tourists.