More than 700 people attended a service in Ottawa on November 2 for Mr Hayes (25), including the New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, Simon Tucker, who presented the Hayes family with a New Zealand flag.
Mr Hayes and his girlfriend, Joanna Lam (24), died after a landslip swept their rental van into the Haast River during their New Zealand travels.
Miss Lam's body was recovered from a beach about 50km away and a funeral service was held for her on October 19 in Kingston, Ontario.
Mr Hayes' body has not been found.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times from Ottawa yesterday, Mr Hayes' father, Michael, said he had warmly acknowledged the Haast community and the New Zealand police at the service and in Canadian media coverage.
''A lot of work got done in the community after we left Haast and a lot of work was done while we were there and before we got there for our child and ... we wanted them to know that they were thanked as publicly as we could thank them in Ottawa.''
Mr Tucker's attendance at the service was much appreciated, too, Mr Hayes said.
''It's all well and good for me to tell people that people in Haast were really overcome with grief and really really felt bad about Connor and Joanna.
In an interview with Canadian television, Mr Tucker said the presentation of the New Zealand flag was a ''token of that connection'' the young couple had with the country.
Mr Tucker was in turn presented with six Canadian police shoulder patches to ''hand out to his men'' in New Zealand, Mr Hayes said.
''It was another opportunity for us to thank the Kiwis.''
Two members of the Canadian Parliament also attended the service, where a slideshow of photos was played from a trip the elder Mr Hayes and his wife, Lorraine Tetreault, made to Haast after the accident.
''A lot of people have come up and said how much they appreciated us sharing that with them. That they really had a better sense of where Connor died.''
The family's strong ties to New Zealand were also marked by the inclusion of the Maori words ''kia kaha'' (''stay strong'') on the service sheet.
Mr Hayes remains in regular contact with Haast police officer Senior Constable Robin Manera, Tasman police district commander Superintendent Richard Chambers and members of the Haast community, who arranged for a plaque to be installed at the Okuru cemetery near Haast commemorating the couple.
The plaque is attached to a rock Mr Hayes and others pulled from the Haast River. Mr Hayes remained ''hopeful but not optimistic'' his son's body would be found one day.
''Clearly, it would be a nice thing for our family if we did find Connor, but ... the realist in me would say it's not going to happen.''
