It's the first time Finland have reached the Final since taking gold in 2022, while Canada's wait to return to the showpiece since their last triumph in 2023 goes on.
A comfortable 4-1 win over Czech Republic had put an end to three Quarter-final losses in a row for Finland, while Canada had gone one better with a 4-0 win over neighbours United States to end the holders' grip on the trophy.
After 20 minutes it looked as if Canada still had every chance of taking the trophy for themselves, albeit after a great start for the Finns, who went ahead in the fourth minute when Konsta Helenius knocked the puck out of his own zone for Patrik Puistola to chase down the right, before cutting in and powering a shot into the top corner.
But it was all Canada for the rest of the first period - they were level less than five minutes later when Finland failed to clear their zone before a Denton Mateychuk shot struck teammate Dylan Holloway, diverting it perfectly into the path of Robert Thomas, who applied the simple finish.
Six minutes later the Canadians were ahead Holloway brought down a clearance from Macklin Celebrini before racing through and firing in off the pipes.
However, the second period belonged exclusively to the Leijonat, who needed just 49 seconds of it to level again, as Mikko Lehtonen's shot was blocked by teammate Mikael Granlund, who tried to force it home before Aleksander Barkov finally turned it into the net.
Soon after the midpoint in the match, Granlund and Barkov were involved again as Finland re-took the lead, working in tandem on the left before sending Helenius through, and his shot only just crossed the line before the despairing Jet Greaves could hook it away with his skate.
Just over a minute later, Finland had the first two-goal lead of the game after Aatu Raty emerged from the crowd to score amid a scramble for the puck in front of the Canadian net. Though Raty was called for hooking with two minutes of the period left, the Finns held on to lead 4-2 with one period to go.
The third period saw the momentum swing back once again, but though Canada had 15 shots on goal compared to just two for Antti Pennanen's side, they couldn't find a route back into the game against a disciplined defence who didn't concede a powerplay when really under pressure, doing enough to win 4-2 and reach the gold medal match.
Switzerland await Finland in the Final at 20:20 CEST tomorrow, Sunday 31st May, while Canada must pick themselves up ahead of facing Norway in the bronze medal game at 15:30 CEST, after the host nation thrashed the Norwegians 6-0 in the first Semi-final.
Follow the medal matches at the 2026 World Ice Hockey Championship on Flashscore.