| population_as_of = 2021

| population_footnotes =

|population_density_blank1_km2 = 752.8

|population_density_km2 = 25.9

|timezone = MST

|utc_offset = −07:00

|timezone_DST = MDT

|utc_offset_DST = −06:00

|postal_code_type = Canadian Postal code

|postal_code = X0E 0R0 – 0R9/1G1 – 1G5

|area_code = 867

|blank_name = Telephone exchange

|blank_info = 874/5

|blank2_name = Prices

|blank3_name = – Living cost

|blank3_info = 132.5

|blank4_name = – Food price index

|blank4_info = 121.3

|blank5_name = Climate

|blank5_info = Dfc

|website = www.hayriver.com

|footnotes = Sources:<br />Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,<br />Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,<br />2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100<br />2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100 known as "the Hub of the North",

History

thumb|left|Hay River on Great Slave Lake

thumb|left|Hay River connection to the Arctic Ocean

thumb|The shore of the Great Slave Lake at Hay River

The area has been in use by First Nations, known as the Long Spear people, as far back as 7000 BC.

A school, health centre and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police followed, and as part of the Canol Road project the United States Army Corps of Engineers built a runway on Vale Island in the Hay River delta. In 1948 the Government of Canada built a gravel road, now the Mackenzie Highway, from Grimshaw, Alberta to Hay River, making it the first community in the NWT to be linked with southern Canada.

In 1959, the Northern Transportation Company Limited located their main base in Hay River and over the years developed the facilities. Today the base is the major staging point for the annual sealift along the Mackenzie River, via Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and the communities of the Arctic Ocean, as far east as Taloyoak, Nunavut and west to Utqiagvik, Alaska.

In 1963, Vale Island, the historical location of the town, was severely flooded. As a response, the town was moved to the new location upstream.

By 1964, as part of the Pine Point Mine development, the Mackenzie Northern Railway was constructed. Ice jams built up in two channels, and combined with a wide-ranging storm system, and already waterlogged ground resulted in a larger than normal flood. Hay River also flooded in 1963,

On 25 August 2023 the entire town population was ordered to evacuate by the government of the Northwest Territories due to the 2023 Canadian wildfires.

Services

The community has a full hospital, the H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital, a woman's shelter/transition house, a dental clinic and an ambulance service. The RCMP detachment has eight members and the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre is located here. There are two grocery stores in Hay River, including the Northern Store, branches of both the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Royal Bank of Canada and a Home Hardware. First Air provides scheduled services to Yellowknife with connections elsewhere. Northwestern Air also offers scheduled service to Edmonton and Fort Smith. Other companies offering charter services in Hay River include Landa Aviation, Carter Air Services (fixed-wing aircraft), Denendeh Helicopters and Remote Helicopters. Harry Camsell is a primary school and serves students from kindergarten to Grade 3. Princess Alexandra, named for and opened by Princess Alexandra in 1967, is a middle school and serves the Grade 4 to the Grade 7. École Boréale is a francophone school that was opened in 2005 and works with students from PK4 to grade 12. Diamond Jenness, named for scientist and anthropologist Diamond Jenness and opened in 1973, is the high school and serves Grade 8 to Grade 12. The town also supports a Community Learning Centre and a Career Centre.

Television

The Hay River Community Service Society also controls television broadcasting and it is paid for through property taxes, at a rate of $36 per household per year. Channels 2–5, 7, and 8–13 rebroadcast Canadian and US channels in analog format from towers atop the Mackenzie Place highrise. Transmitter powers range from 9W to 2.545&nbsp;kW. Channels include CIHC-TV channel 5, a community channel; CH4435 channel 8, rebroadcasting Radio-Canada through CBFT Montreal; and CH4160 channel 12, repeating the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network; among other channels. The local CBC-owned CBC North television repeater, CBEBT-1 channel 7, closed on 31 July 2012; however, the Hay River Community Service Society announced that it acquired the transmitter, which they intended to use for CBC Television service. Besides Hay River, the paper is available in Yellowknife, Enterprise, Fort Smith, Inuvik, Fort Providence, Fort Resolution and Grande Prairie.

Communications

Internet services are provided by SSI Micro and NorthwesTel, land based telephone by Northwestel and cell phones by NMI Mobility.

thumb|left|The Hay River Museum

thumb|left|Beach at Hay River on the shores of [[Great Slave Lake]]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hay River had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

In 2016, the Indigenous population in Hay River is 1,630, up from 1,600 at the 2006 Canadian census, and is made up of First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

! colspan="2" |2016

! colspan="2" |2011

! colspan="2" |2006

! colspan="2" |2001

|-

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

|-

| European

| 1,445

|

| 1,570

|

| 1,780

|

| 1,845

|

| 1,765

|

|-

| Indigenous

| 1,390

|

| 1,635

|

| 1,620

|

| 1,600

|

| 1,565

|

|-

| Southeast Asian

| 145

|

| 135

|

| 100

|

| 105

|

| 60

|

|-

| East Asian

| 80

|

| 50

|

| 40

|

| 35

|

| 40

|

|-

| South Asian

| 35

|

| 15

|

| 30

|

| 10

|

| 15

|

|-

| African

| 30

|

| 45

|

| 15

|

| 20

|

| 10

|

|-

| Latin American

| 10

|

| 0

|

| 10

|

| 20

|

| 0

|

|-

| Middle Eastern

| 10

|

| 0

|

| 0

|

| 0

|

| 0

|

|-

| Other/multiracial

| 10

|

| 0

|

| 0

|

| 10

|

| 0

|

|-

! Total responses

! 3,120

!

! 3,460

!

! 3,595

!

! 3,610

!

! 3,450

!

|- class="sortbottom"

! Total population

! 3,169

!

! 3,528

!

! 3,606

!

! 3,648

!

! 3,510

!

|- class="sortbottom"

| colspan="11" |

|}

Language

The main languages in the town are South Slavey, Chipewyan, Michif and English.

Notable people

  • Paul Delorey, professional curler and former MLA and speaker in the Northwest Territories Legislature.
  • Brendan Green, Canadian team biathlete, participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in the Men's 4x7.5&nbsp;km Relay.
  • Jane Groenewegen, former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from Hay River South
  • Joe McBryan (Buffalo Joe), president and owner of Buffalo Airways featured on Ice Pilots NWT
  • Mikey McBryan, Buffalo Airways General Manager and featured on Ice Pilots NWT
  • Rob McVicar, professional ice hockey goaltender
  • John Pollard, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1987 until 1995
  • Geoff Sanderson, former National Hockey League player
  • Donald Morton Stewart, former mayor and speaker of the Northwest Territories Legislature
  • Jelena Mrdjenovich, WBA and WBC World female featherweight boxing champion

See also

  • List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories
  • Hay River Water Aerodrome
  • Hay River (District) Heliport

References

Further reading

  • DiLabio, R. N. W. Kimberlitic Indicator Minerals in the Geological Survey of Canada's Archived Till Samples Results of Analysis of Samples from Victoria Island and the Hay River Area, Northwest Territories. [Canada]: Geological Survey of Canada, 1997.
  • The Town of Hay River