The town's name comes from an Irish-language epithet for Ireland, Inis Fáil, "Isle of Destiny".

[7] Sandy Fraser, Napoleon Remillard, Arthur Content and Bill Kemp settled in the area from 1884 to 1887.

Dr. Henry George was an important physician and coroner for Calgary and Central Alberta.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dog training facility is located 2 km south of Innisfail.

[6] According to the National Household Survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2011, Innisfail has a comparatively high ratio of residents with no certificate, diploma or degree (based on total population aged 25 to 64).

In comparison to other communities in Central Alberta, males aged 25 to 64 in Ponoka, Olds and Sylvan Lake had rates of 11.9%,[13] 14.1%[14] and 14.9%,[15] respectively.

The province of Alberta ratio for males aged 25 to 64 with no certificate, diploma or degree is 13.2%.