He lived in Essex County, Ontario where he and his wife Rose Claire raised five children.
[3] He ran against McGuigan again in the 1990 election, this time defeating him by 5,890 votes amid a provincial victory for the NDP under Bob Rae.
The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Hayes finished third, 2,293 votes behind the winning candidate, Liberal Pat Hoy.
[6] He sought a return to the legislature in the 2003 provincial election, but, although he was generally seen as a strong candidate, he lost to Liberal incumbent Bruce Crozier by about 8,000 votes in the riding of Essex.
[1] He managed the campaign of Taras Natyshak, a family friend and NDP candidate in Essex in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections.