Tucked along Highway 21 in central Alberta, Hay Lakes sits roughly 32 kilometres north of Camrose and about 50 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. The village covers a compact land area of 0.59 square kilometres, and as of the 2021 federal census, it was home to 456 residents living in 176 of its 185 private dwellings, reflecting a population density of approximately 773 people per square kilometre. That figure represented a modest decline from the 495 residents recorded in the 2016 census, which itself marked a notable 16.5 per cent increase over the 425 people counted in 2011.
The community’s roots reach back to 1876, when James McKernan established a telegraph station in the area, making him the village’s founding pioneer. Settlement in the region was driven largely by immigrants arriving from Sweden and Norway, giving the community its early Scandinavian character. A significant turning point came in 1911, when the Canadian National Railway extended its Edmonton to Calgary line through Hay Lakes, connecting the village to the broader provincial economy. The community was officially incorporated as a village in 1928, and for a brief period between 1928 and 1932 it carried the name Village of Hay Lake, before the plural form was restored.