Upon completion it was largest steel bridge in Western Canada and is officially listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places.

[2] It is named after William Thomas Finlay, a local politician who was the most vocal advocate for the bridge's construction.

Prior to Finlay Bridge completion, Medicine Hat residents had to choose between either the CP Rail bridge or a ferry, operated by the North-West Mounted Police, to get from one side of the city to the other.

Both were risky options and the ferry route was only open 6 months of the year due to winter freezing.

[4][5] Medicine Hat was almost "split in two" for the first time in over a hundred years as all major bridges connecting the north to the south were scheduled to be shut down due to the historic flooding of 2013.