Canola oil originated in Canada in the 1970s, developed through conventional plant breeding at the University of Manitoba. It was created by transforming rapeseed, an industrial oilseed crop, into a food-safe cooking oil by removing the compounds that made rapeseed unsuitable for human consumption. The name “canola” is an acronym for “CANadian Oil, Low Acid,” trademarked in Canada in 1978.
Rapeseed: The Industrial Ancestor
Rapeseed has been cultivated for centuries, but for most of that history it was not considered a food crop. The oil from rapeseed contains high levels of erucic acid, a fatty acid linked to heart damage in animal studies, which made it a poor choice for cooking. What it was good for was lubrication. Rapeseed oil proved invaluable during World War II because no other oil adhered to metal surfaces under the extreme heat and steam conditions of marine engines as effectively. That wartime demand spurred large-scale rapeseed farming in Canada, but once the war ended, growers were left with a crop that had limited market appeal.
Beyond erucic acid, rapeseed meal (the solid left after pressing out oil) was high in glucosinolates, bitter compounds that made the meal unpalatable and potentially harmful as animal feed. These two problems, erucic acid in the oil and glucosinolates in the meal, were the barriers Canadian plant scientists set out to eliminate.
The Breakthrough at the University of Manitoba
In 1960, plant scientist Baldur Stefansson and his colleagues at the University of Manitoba identified rapeseed lines with near-zero erucic acid. This was the critical first step. Over the next decade, Stefansson’s team used traditional cross-breeding (not genetic modification) to combine low erucic acid with low glucosinolate content in the same plant. The goal was a “double-low” variety: low in both problem compounds.
That goal was reached in 1974 with the release of a cultivar called “Tower,” the first double-low rapeseed variety. Tower contained less than 2% erucic acid in its oil and drastically reduced glucosinolates in the meal. A second variety, “Candle,” followed in 1977. These weren’t minor tweaks. Traditional rapeseed oil could contain 40% or more erucic acid. Bringing that below 2% through selective breeding over roughly 15 years was a significant achievement in crop science.
How Canola Got Its Name and Legal Status
The Canadian industry needed to distinguish this new, food-grade oil from its industrial-grade parent. In 1978, the name “Canola” was registered as a trademark in Canada. To qualify as canola, a variety must meet strict standards: no more than 2% erucic acid in the oil and fewer than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram of fat-free meal. Anything above those thresholds is still classified as rapeseed, not canola. These are the “double-zero” criteria that define canola to this day, and they are codified in regulations on both sides of the border.
In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted canola oil “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) status. That opened the American market and helped canola oil become one of the most widely used cooking oils in North America. The federal standard in the U.S. mirrors the Canadian definition, capping erucic acid at 2% of total fatty acids.
The Shift to Genetically Modified Varieties
The original canola varieties were developed entirely through conventional breeding. Starting in the mid-1990s, however, biotech companies introduced genetically modified canola designed to tolerate specific herbicides, making weed control simpler for farmers. Adoption was rapid. By 2013, GMO canola accounted for 95% of all canola planted in the United States. Most of that GMO canola is used to make cooking oil and margarine.
Non-GMO canola still exists and is grown in parts of Canada, Europe, and Australia, but in the U.S. market, the overwhelming majority of canola oil on grocery shelves comes from herbicide-tolerant GMO varieties. If that distinction matters to you, look for certified organic or non-GMO verified labels.
From Canadian Crop to Global Commodity
What started as a Canadian research project now spans the globe. Canada remains a major producer, but it is no longer the largest. In the 2024/2025 growing season, the European Union led global rapeseed oil production at about 9.85 million metric tons, roughly 29% of the world total. China followed at 7.84 million metric tons (23%), with Canada third at 4.82 million metric tons (14%). Australia, India, and several other countries also grow significant canola acreage.
The European and Chinese production figures include both canola-type and higher-erucic-acid rapeseed, since regulatory definitions vary by country. But the trend is clear: the low-acid varieties that Stefansson’s team developed in Manitoba have become the global standard for edible rapeseed oil. The name “canola” is used primarily in North America and Australia, while much of Europe still labels the same low-erucic product as “rapeseed oil,” which can cause confusion for shoppers encountering both terms.
Why It Matters for Your Kitchen
Understanding canola’s origin helps cut through some of the confusion and controversy that surrounds this oil online. Canola is not a mysterious, unnamed plant. It is rapeseed, specifically bred to remove the compounds that made rapeseed oil unsuitable for eating. The breeding process that created it was no different from the selective breeding behind modern apples, wheat, or cattle. The later introduction of GMO traits is a separate chapter in the story, layered on top of decades of conventional crop improvement.
The oil itself is low in saturated fat and relatively high in omega-3 fatty acids compared to most other common cooking oils. Its neutral flavor and high smoke point made it a kitchen staple almost as soon as regulators cleared it for food use. Whether your bottle is conventional or organic, the oil inside traces its lineage back to a Manitoba lab in the 1960s and a handful of plant breeders who saw a food crop hiding inside an industrial one.