[5] Finnish People First originated from the Suomi Ensin ("Finland First") movement that organized a protest camp in central Helsinki in the spring of 2017.

[8][6] The movement splintered into numerous competing factions, one of which evolved into Finnish People First,[6] also led by de Wit.

[10] The association had collected the required 5,000 supporter cards by October 2018, and was admitted to the party register in December that year.

A party conference was convened to address the issue, but only resulted in furthering the divides.

[15][6] It opposed Finland's membership in the European Union and the Eurozone, and would return to its former currency, the Finnish markka.