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A moderate-sized, predominantly black cicada with yellowish-tan markings. The combination of both narrow forewings (width:length 0.29 - 0.31) and primarily boreal distribution will segregate the Canadian Cicada from all others except Say's (O. rimosa), which is superficially very similar; to reliably separate specimens of canadensis from rimosa the structure of the tymbal must be examined, which has 10 to 11 ribs in canadensis and 7 to 8 (rarely 9) ribs in rimosa (Alexander et al. 1972). In Michigan, rimosa is marked with a brighter orange compared to the tan markings of canadensis (Alexander et al. 1972), but it is not clear if this trait holds up for Alberta populations since museum amterial is limited. There are likely habitat and song differences as well, but this data is also lacking for Alberta populations.

O. canadensis prefers conifer tree habitats such as pine woods in Quebec and Michigan (Davis 1919, Cooley 2001). Adults lay eggs into tree and shrub twigs. Length of immature stage unknown, but probably several years. Males perch in trees (typically one male per tree) to attract mates, with the song consisting of a broad-frequency, slightly metallic buzz (Cooley 2001). A detailed account of mating behaviour in O. canadensis is given by Cooley (2001). A portion of the male song can be heard at: http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/Michigan_Cicadas/Michigan/Index.html

In Alberta, this species occurs in the boreal region from Edmonton northward, and possibly also further south. This is the northernmost cicada in the world, occurring as far north as the Mackenzie River basin, NWT (Maw et al. 2000). Found from British Columbia east to New Brunswick and Quebec, south to Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania (Maw et al. 2000, Davis 1919).