The canoeing competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was composed of 16 events (12 for men and 4 for women) in two disciplines, slalom and sprint. Timing in 1/1000ths of a second began at these games for the sprint events.
Slalom events took place at Ocoee Whitewater Center near Ducktown, Tennessee.
Sprint events were held at Lake Lanier, Georgia.