The Bridge Prize was established in 2019 by the School of Liberal Education as a biennial competition celebrating excellence in short story fiction writing at the post-secondary level in Canada.  The founder and donor of the Bridge Prize is Terry Whitehead, a Vancouver-based alumnus of the University of Lethbridge.  Founding sponsors included The Walrus and Munro's Books of Victoria.

The Bridge Prize is named after the iconic High Level Bridge that dominates the Lethbridge landscape, and for the intent of the competition to assist students pursuing literary careers to transition, or bridge, to the world of professional writing.  The Bridge Prize inspires and motivates Canada's next generation of literary artists.