The Hay River Strategic Housing Plan was developed through a multi-year process in collaboration with the Town of Hay River and Housing NWT. The goals and objectives in the Plan reflect community needs and priorities shared by community members through multiple periods of community engagement and review. A community Advisory Committee was also established to guide and inform a housing needs assessment in 2021 and 2022, followed by development of the 2023 Strategic Housing Plan. Planning support was provided through PlanIt North and Phillpot Consultants with funding provided by Housing NWT. Plan implementation will be led by the Town with support from Housing NWT and community partners.

This planning process began in 2021 with a community Housing Needs Assessment (released in May 2022), which provided an overview of the current housing situation in Hay River. The Needs Assessment was the first step in developing the Hay River Housing Plan and included both a desktop review and community engagements between November 2021 and February 2022. Its outcomes provided draft goals and objectives for the Housing Plan, which were presented at validation events with various stakeholders, including West Point First Nation. The planning process was guided by an Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from local Indigenous governments, organizations, and stakeholder groups. In March 2023, a final plan was presented to a Standing Committee and subsequently approved by Council, and plan partners met to identify key work planning priorities for the Town.  A separate Monitoring and Evaluation Framework will be used by the Town and plan partners to review and evaluate plan implementation progress over the 5 years of plan implementation.