William Finlay

William Thomas Finlay (July 12, 1853 – May 9, 1914) was a merchant, politician and cabinet minister in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada. Finlay served as the second mayor of Medicine Hat, represented the electoral district of Medicine Hat in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and served in the Cabinet of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as Alberta's first Minister of Agriculture and Provincial Secretary from 1905 to 1909.

Early life Finlay was born in Lisburn, Ireland on July 12, 1853, to John Finlay and Christina Brownlee. He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and worked in the wholesale grocery business before moving to Montreal, Quebec in 1873.

Political life William first ran for the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories in the 1898 Northwest Territories general election in the Medicine Hat district but was defeated, coming a close second to Horace Greeley. Finlay's inclusion in cabinet came after strong pressure on Rutherford from liberals in Medicine Hat to acknowledge the regions importance, as well as Finlay's virtues. Finlay was the only member of the Rutherford cabinet born outside of Canada.

In Alberta's first general election, Finlay was elected as a member of the Alberta Liberal Party for Medicine Hat defeating conservative candidate Francis O. Sissions by a narrow margin of 51.7 per cent to 48.3 per cent.

Liberal William Thomas Finlay

Conservative F. O. Sissions

Liberal William Thomas Finlay

Conservative F. D. Sissons

William Thomas Finlay

J. A. Grant

Horace Greeley

William Thomas Finlay

John George Calder