The only other settlements at higher latitudes in the province are mostly isolated Cree, Innu, or Inuit villages, with access limited to seasonal gravel roads.

The Montagnais or Innu people, who call it Uashat ("Great Bay"), have lived there since before the time of European encounter.

He was not the first European in the area, as he encountered Basque fishermen who came annually from Europe for whaling and cod fishing.

[2] Early European economic activity in Sept-Îles was based on fishing and the fur trade.

Great Britain took over Canada from France in 1763 after its victory in the Seven Years' War, and in 1802, the North West Company (NWC) took over the post.

[2][11] In 1875, the parish of Saint-Joseph-des-Sept-Îles was created, and in 1886, its post office opened under the English name "Seven Islands" (which was francized to "Sept-Îles" in 1933).

Iron ore mined near Schefferville and Wabush, Labrador, was transported on this railway and shipped from the Port of Sept-Îles.

[11] With the iron ore business, the Sept-Îles deep-water seaport was second in Canada only to Vancouver in terms of yearly tonnage.

The huge engineering project led to a major increase in population, and housing was quickly built to accommodate them.

[11] During the early 1990s, some new jobs accompanied the construction and operation of the new Aluminerie Alouette inc. aluminum processing plant.

Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, between the Sainte-Marguerite and Moisie rivers, Sept-Îles lies on the shore of a deep-water bay fronted by a seven-island archipelago, about 230 kilometres (140 mi) east of Baie-Comeau.

There are two First Nations reserves in the area: Uashat in the western city proper, and Maliotenam in the east near the Moisie River.

The largest visible minority groups in Sept-Îles were Black (0.9%), Filipino (0.4%), and Latin American (0.3%).

Iron ore from Wabush and Bloom Lake is also shipped at Point Noire port facilities.

The Aluminerie Alouette, in activity since 1992, has a large part in the local employment since construction started in 1989.

[21] Since 2009, Sept-Îles has been part of the Saint-Laurent destination circuit, which has nine international cruise ports.

[22] The international cruises in Sept-Îles are led by the non-profit organization Destination Sept-Îles Nakauinanu.M[23] The organization's mission is to enable the various public and private bodies to enjoy a permanent structure, in the form of a one-stop shop, enabling them to work jointly on the development and promotion of the City of Sept-Îles and from its surroundings to international cruise lines.

On September 7, 2019, when Royal Caribbean Line made its maiden call overnight, this was a safe haven for avoiding Hurricane Dorian.

The local Cogeco system also carries CBMT-DT (CBC) Montreal and CJBR-DT (Ici Radio-Canada Télé) Rimouski.