Since 2010 earthquake victims that were fleeing the chaos in the adjacent Port-au-Prince neighborhoods, migrants from rural zones of Haiti and people profiting from the uncontrolled situation invested according to ONU-Habitat data more than 10 million US Dollar in the development of the "new city".

Over time, the de facto land ownership has become accepted and donors have funding projects including roads and water systems.

The victims of the earthquake set up camps in the squares of the city where the Haitian Government, with the help of non-governmental organizations, provides food, water and sanitation services.

Un Techo para mi País, an international non-governmental organization founded in Chile, is working in Canaan to replace the tents with modular transitional houses.

The food product is Peanut Butter medicine, which comes in a bag and has all the vitamins, minerals, fats and oils that a child needs in those critical years of development.

Since October 2012, Master's students of TU Munich in cooperation with the volunteers organization TECHO Haïti have been performing extensive research in Onaville, the most eastern part of Canaan.

The topics of research performed by the research platform Urban Strategies for Onaville, Haiti (TUM-USO) have been: flooding risk of Ravine Madanièl (Ravine Lan Couline)[3] and integrated water management, infrastructure mapping, participatory urban development strategies, urban design, locally adapted gardening techniques, etc.. Research results are shared with key actors from Haitian Government and the "International Community", non-governmental organizations, local administration, and especially with local leaders and residents.

In February 2015, USAID and its funding partner the American Red Cross (ARC) announce a two-year long, approximately 14 Million US-Dollar activity—the Canaan Upgrading and Community Development or Ann Develope Canaan (Haitian Creole) Program—working closely with the Government of Haiti's Unité de Construction de Logements et de Bâtiments Publics within the Office of the Prime Minister, to support the Government of Haiti's vision to promote equitable and resilient urban development in the Canaan zone.