Lobbying by local interest groups and land speculators achieved Parliamentary approval by 1890 and construction commenced in 1892.

The most important stations on the line, Belmore, Canterbury and Marrickville, were built with impressive near-identical brick buildings, the other intermediate stations (Campsie, Dulwich Hill and Hurlstone Park) receiving more modest timber buildings (later replaced), possibly reflecting economies of the depression of the 1890s.

However, suburban development followed in the early twentieth century, particularly during the interwar period when many war service homes were built west of Canterbury.

After its closure it was sealed in its "as closed condition" by the Heritage Section of the State Rail Authority to preserve the building and its internal signalling equipment.

As part of the line’s conversion to Sydney Metro in 2025, the station was upgraded and made accessible with the addition of lifts and tactile indicators in 2023.

An overhead booking office accessed from the Canterbury Road overbridge on the east and from Broughton Street on the north was rebuilt in the late 1980s.

The soffit lining is the underside of the corrugated steel roof fixed to intermediate exposed purlins.

External: Rectangular face brick building with gabled corrugated steel roof and integral shallower sloped cantilevered awning.

[3] The cantilever awning is on standard double bowed steel brackets supported on decorative cement haunches and bolt fixings to the station building brick walls.

The soffit lining is the underside of the corrugated steel roofing fixed to intermediate exposed purlins.

[3] The external walls rise from a projecting brick plinth three/four courses high with a decorative dado moulding run in cement which is continuous between door and window openings.

[3] The original timber clad overhead booking office has been demolished and replaced by a new steel framed metal hipped roof structure.

The first floor (or operating level) has wood framed, sliding windows on three sides with a blank rear wall.

The landing extends past the front of the building over a public walkway to a flight of metal stairs.

The eastern extension is flat roofed and is constructed of precast concrete panels between exposed verticals simulating timber weatherboards.

[3] The overbridge consists of steel girders supporting a jack arched brick and concrete deck.

A fire caused some internal damage to the rear wall and ceiling of the operating level and there is evidence of past white ant activity.

The footbridge retains its original haunched beam structure but has a new concrete floor, new balustrades and canopy cover.

The overbridge retains all of its original steel beams and jack arches as well as the brick abutments, piers and parapet walls.

[3] Canterbury Railway Station is significant at the state level as the Platform 1 Building demonstrates the high level of aesthetic design of the pre-1900 standard railway buildings, which included the use of polychromatic brickwork, decorative dentil coursing, ornate awning brackets and carved bargeboards.

[3] Canterbury railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[3] The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

Canterbury Railway Station has historical significance as it is one of the railway stations on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line built to relieve the crowding on the Main Southern Line and encourage agriculture and suburban growth in the late 1800s and early 20th century.

[3] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The platform building on Platform 1 at Canterbury station has state aesthetic and technical significance because it exemplifies the particular design and style of brick island buildings erected by the NSW Railways prior to 1900 which possessed high qualities of aesthetic features such as polychromatic brickwork, dentilled brick cornices and cement mouldings which distinguish it from other platform building types.

[3] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

[3] The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The signal box building design is rare within the metropolitan area, though other examples exist in regional locations.

[3] The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

[3] This Wikipedia article contains material from Canterbury Railway Station group, entry number 01109 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.