Governor Lewis Cass returned the acts unapproved, citing a conflict under the law.

The names conflicted with post offices in existence, contrary to a territorial law from April 12, 1827, prohibiting incorporation of a new township bearing the same name as any existing post office.

The legislature thus had to substitute the names of Nankin and Pekin after the cities of Nanjing (Nanking) and Beijing (Peking) in China.

It was named in honor of the port and provincial capital known historically as Canton, Imperial China, known today from the pinyin standard as Guangzhou.

In the summer of 2002, the emerald ash borer was discovered in Canton, eventually infesting the Great Lakes region.

The Canton Historical Society and Museum opened in 1982 in a one-roomed schoolhouse.

[citation needed] According to the Charter Township's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[11] the top employers in the city are: The publisher Visible Ink Press has its headquarters in Canton.

(* Part of the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park) (** Part of Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program) In 2015, Canton was ranked as the 29th most safe city in the U.S.[4] The U.S. Census Bureau defined Canton Township as both a township and a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2000 U.S. Census so that the community would appear on the list of places (like cities and villages) as well on the list of county subdivisions (like other townships).

The median household price was $239,900 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey estimates.