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Dated reference desk · source releases retained as labelled

Numbers with
their labels attached.

Production, quality, crushing, oil, meal, exports, and stocks belong to different periods and data systems. This dashboard keeps the date, status, definition, and source beside every measure.

Read the full Canadian story

Read these as dated reference observations.

The records below retain earlier source periods and outlooks. They are not a live feed or a refresh of those statistics. Check the linked primary publication for the latest release before using a number in a current decision.

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What do you need to understand?

CropFinal estimate

21.8 Mt

2025 canola production

2025 calendar crop · Released Dec. 4, 2025

What it measures
Harvested canola production reported through the November Field Crop Survey. Statistics Canada notes that final estimates remain subject to revision for two years.
Read it carefully
National yield was reported at 44.7 bu/ac. Production combines harvested area and yield; it is not the same measure as supply.
Statistics Canada
CropJune survey

23.4M ac

2026 planted canola area

2026 growing season · Released June 30, 2026

What it measures
Area Canadian producers reported planting to canola in the June Field Crop Survey.
Read it carefully
This supersedes the March intentions estimate. Planted area is not harvested area and does not determine final production without yield and abandonment information.
Statistics Canada
QualityObserved samples

95.0%

No. 1 share of submitted samples

2025 harvest samples · Report current in 2026

What it measures
Share of canola samples received by the Harvest Sample Program that graded No. 1 Canada.
Read it carefully
This is a voluntary sample program and not a direct census of every delivered tonne. Provincial and district sample counts and weighting matter.
Canadian Grain Commission
QualityWeighted sample mean

43.6%

Mean oil content

2025 No. 1 harvest samples · Report current in 2026

What it measures
Mean oil content of No. 1 Canada harvest samples reported on an 8.5% moisture basis.
Read it carefully
An average is not a specification for a seed lot or an oil-recovery guarantee. Individual samples and regions varied.
Canadian Grain Commission
ProcessingMonthly observation

1,036,204 t

Seed crushed

May 2026 · Released June 30, 2026

What it measures
Canola seed crushed by reporting Canadian oilseed processors during the calendar month.
Read it carefully
A monthly flow should not be read as annual capacity or crop-year crush. Compare like periods and account for the number of days and reporting revisions.
Statistics Canada
ProcessingMonthly observation

446,725 t

Canola oil produced

May 2026 · Released June 30, 2026

What it measures
Canola oil produced by reporting processors during the calendar month.
Read it carefully
Oil weight and seed input may use different product and moisture accounting bases. This is not a retail edible-oil measure alone.
Statistics Canada
ProcessingMonthly observation

597,775 t

Canola meal produced

May 2026 · Released June 30, 2026

What it measures
Canola meal produced by reporting processors during the calendar month.
Read it carefully
Meal is a major co-product. Its reported weight should not be added to oil and compared with seed input without reconciling moisture and reporting bases.
Statistics Canada
OutlookForecast

8.4 Mt

2025–26 seed exports

Crop-year forecast · AAFC outlook June 19, 2026

What it measures
AAFC forecast of total canola seed exports for the August 2025 to July 2026 crop year.
Read it carefully
This is not the current cumulative observed total. AAFC reported that export movement had reached a crop-year high in May and revised the full-year forecast upward.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
OutlookForecast

13.0 Mt

2026–27 domestic crush

Crop-year forecast · AAFC outlook June 19, 2026

What it measures
AAFC forecast of canola seed crushed domestically during the August 2026 to July 2027 crop year.
Read it carefully
The outlook cites expanded processing capacity and anticipated demand. Capacity, forecast crush, and observed throughput are different measures.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
OutlookForecast

1.3 Mt

2026–27 carry-out

End-of-crop-year forecast · AAFC outlook June 19, 2026

What it measures
AAFC forecast of canola stocks remaining at the end of the 2026–27 crop year.
Read it carefully
Carry-out changes as production, imports, exports, crush, domestic use, and revisions change. It is a balance-sheet residual, not one surveyed pile of grain.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Data dictionary

Words that change the number.

A sound canola statistic starts with the period, geography, unit, status, and definition.

Calendar year
January through December. Monthly crush data use calendar months.
Crop year
For canola supply and disposition, August 1 through July 31. It crosses two calendar years.
Production
Harvested area multiplied by yield, subject to survey and revision methods.
Total supply
Carry-in stocks plus production plus imports. It is larger than production when stocks or imports are present.
Crush
Seed processed into oil, meal, and other streams during the stated period.
Exports
Movement outside Canada under the data system and period stated; seed, oil, and meal are separate products.
Carry-out
Estimated stocks remaining at crop-year end after the balance of supply and use.
Forecast
A dated scenario based on information available at publication. It is expected to change as observations arrive.
Production geographySee where the crop is grownHarvest qualityUnderstand samples, grades, and measurementsCrush economicsConnect seed with oil and mealMarket literacyPlace data inside bids, delivery, and demand

A closer reading / The Fresh

Read the date, unit and definition before the canola number

Distinguish crop estimates, monthly processing, stocks, quality samples and forecasts before comparing agricultural statistics.

Original editorial guide · October 24, 2026
Original editorial still-life illustration of unbranded canola oil and ingredients
Original editorial illustration; no product endorsement or recipe test depicted.

A number needs a complete label

A canola statistic becomes useful when it carries its geography, unit, reference period, publication date and meaning. A national figure in tonnes answers a different question from a provincial area in acres or an oil-content percentage in harvest samples. Start with those labels before deciding whether a number is large, small or changing.

Use a simple reading line: what was measured, where, for which period, by whom and under which definition? If you cannot complete it, keep the number as a lead to investigate rather than repeating it as a complete fact.

Separate the crop from the reporting cycle

Statistics Canada's crop reporting distinguishes seeding intentions, seeded area, harvested area, yield, production and stocks. These describe different things at different stages of the season. An intention to plant is not a final harvest result; production cannot be understood by looking at acreage alone.

Keep the reference period separate from the release date. A report published this month may describe an earlier month or season. When comparing two releases, check whether you are seeing a revised estimate for the same period or a new observation for a different period.

Keep monthly processing and stocks distinct

The Monthly Crushing Operations Survey collects quantities of oilseeds processed, oil and meal produced, and stocks at the end of the month. Processing during a month is a flow. Stock at a particular date is an amount held at that moment. Adding them together without a defined accounting framework produces a number with little meaning.

A monthly processing observation is also different from a plant's stated capacity. Before drawing a conclusion, compare like periods, read the survey coverage and look for revisions. A percentage calculated from mismatched measures can be precise-looking and still answer the wrong question.

Ask what a quality sample represents

Harvest-quality reports describe samples and analytical methods. The Canadian Grain Commission's programme is voluntary, and its report explains how samples are combined and how measurements are expressed. A sample mean is not a guarantee for every seed lot, and seed oil content is not a promise about the recovery achieved by a particular processor.

Read the basis attached to a percentage. Moisture basis, grade, geography and sampling details affect what can be compared. Keep those details with the chart rather than moving them into a note so distant that the headline appears to make a broader claim.

Make a comparison that survives checking

Before publishing a change, line up the same commodity, geography, unit, period and definition. Save the source link and the release or retrieval date. If a method or category changed, explain the break instead of drawing one continuous trend line through incompatible observations.

Forecasts should retain their forecast label, and older observations should retain their date. A reliable dashboard can show an older number honestly when it explains its scope. Its value comes from helping readers understand the evidence, not from calling every card live or implying that a refreshed page timestamp means the underlying data were updated.

Further reading

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