On July 30, Peter IV "el Cerimoniós" gave the place to Raimon de Riusech taking it from Joan Eximenis d'Urrea, with the condition that if he had no male descendants it would be given back to the crown, but in the end it was sold to Xàtiva, with the king's approval on February 19 of 1353 as a barony.

In 1639, Phillip IV paid Xàtiva 20.000 pounds, and gave independence to Canals as a village (vila).

In the 20th century this industrial activity increased with oil, furniture, construction materials, leather and cloth production.

The economy is divided into agriculture (oranges), industry famous for its clothing and leather production (Ferry's, Rodrigo Sancho S.A.), and marble.

Today the industry is almost dead with the main companies having closed down: Ferry's (2007), Argent (2008), Rodrigo Sancho S.A. (2010), and many others.