Canola Health Facts

Canola has high levels of omega-3, which helps reduce cholesterol deposition in the bloodstream.

At 7% canola has the lowest saturated fat of any oil with an excellent balance of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Canola has been stated as having the best fatty acid ratio of any edible oil. This means that canola has the best mix of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. As a guideline, health professionals recommend that 30% of total daily calories come from fats.

Canola oil is Canada’s leading vegetable oil and Canada has the highest per capita consumption globally. Processed consumer vegetable oil products are divided into 3 categories: margarines, shortenings, and salad oils.

Canola’s share of each of the categories is as follows:
Margarine 80%
Shortenings 45%
Salad Oils 60%

Canola is truly a "Made in Canada" product. In 1974, Dr. Baldur Stefansson, a University of Manitoba plant breeder, developed the first canola variety through traditional plant breeding methods. This Brassica napus variety was the first to meet the specific nutritional requirements.

Oil produced from GM canola is identical to oil produced from traditional canola.

Is Canola Rapeseed?
Canola is not Rapeseed. Rapeseed is not a word that can be used in the place of canola. Canola was derived using traditional plant breeding methods. The two differ in their chemical composition and nutritional qualities. Products that do not meet strict government canola quality standards cannot use this trademark term.

Canola is the combination of two words Canadian and oil. Grown primarily in Western Canada, each canola plant grows anywhere from 1m to 2m tall and produces yellow flowers, which in turn produce seed pods. The seedpods are about 1/5th the size of pea pods. The seeds are crushed to obtain canola oil and the remainder is processed into canola meal, which is used as a high protein livestock feed.

There are 14 canola crushing and/or refining plants located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. There are dozens of smaller canola repackaging plants located across Canada.

The value of Canadian canola seed, oil and meal exports averages $2 billion a year. This represents 12% of the agri food exports from western Canada.

Our largest customers are U.S., Japan, Mexico and Canada. In Canada, canola enjoys a 70% market share but this represents only 20% of annual production.