[2] Canagaratnam's nephew C. Sittampalam was a government minister.

[3] Canagaratnam joined the legal profession after finishing his education.

[2] Canagaratnam became chairman of the Rural Education Development Board in the 1920s.

[2][4] Canagaratnam campaigned for the establishment of the University of Ceylon and edited a nationalist journal called The Ceylon Patriot.

[2] He built Stanley College, which was later renamed Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam, using his own funds.