Canaan has a population of 1,820 in an area of 36.7 square miles on New York's border with Massachusetts in northern Columbia County, New York.

The town of Canaan includes parts of East Chatham, the rest of which is in the town of Chatham. Similarly, parts of Red Rock are included within Canaan's southern boundary. Canaan is bordered by Austerlitz to the south, New Lebanon to the north, Massachusetts to the east, and Chatham to the west.

Canaan was founded by settlers from Canaan, Connecticut in 1759.