The term canoe is an ambiguous one having varying local and regional meanings.
The most notable ambiguity is between two types that could be described as 'open deck' and 'closed deck'. In North America, the former is named 'canoe' and the latter named 'kayak', while in other parts of the English-speaking world both are considered 'canoes', with the former being termed a 'Canadian canoe' and the latter a 'kayak'.
The first use of the word canoe by a European, originally from the Arawak word "canoa" in the Caribbean Sea, was by Christopher Columbus. Later Garcilaso de la Vega defined it as an open boat, but the British used it for all boats of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. This use of canoe to cover generically both canoes and kayaks is not so common in North American usage, but is common in other parts of the English speaking world.
The use of the word 'Canadian' for canoe, is the result of differences in interpretation during the development of the sport of canoeing, where the kayak was often seen as the canoe and the open canoe was called 'Canadian canoe', later shortened to 'Canadian'. This designation 'Canadian' came from the so called 'open Canadian style' canoe from Canada, the then (only...) approved open canoe model by the American Canoe Association, as opposed to the wood & canvas canoe from Maine in the United States, that was not recognized by the ACA until 1934. This discrepancy was unknown outside America, and as a result many people there saw both vessels as 'Canadian' canoes, and started to call all canoes 'Canadian' -- even the decked or closed canoes.
Clarity is usually achieved through the use of various modifiers such as "decked canoe" for canoes with significant decking or "sailing canoe" for those that are sailed more than paddled. Other names refer to a specific use such as "whitewater canoe" for boats used in river rapids, and those made of specific materials such as the "concrete canoe", a canoe made of concrete, typically created for an engineering competition. Some names refer to a significant permanent appendage such as "outrigger canoe", a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats, or those coming from specific regions such as "waka", a type of Māori watercraft, usually a canoe.
Local usage is often perplexing. For example, in the Arctic where natives call their highly powered work boats "freighter canoes". Another confusing usage is the 'square stern canoe" that refers to canoes with transoms.
For multi-occupant craft without a water skirt, sometimes referred to as an open, Canadian, or Indian canoe, see canoe.
For single occupant craft with a water skirt, used in the play of canoe polo, see kayak.
Geography
Various locations feature the word canoe in their names:
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