Canada goldenrod is native to northeastern and north-central North America and grows in zones 3 to 9. It is often among the first plants to colonize disturbed ground such as burned land and roadsides, and it tolerates conditions from very dry to waterlogged. Bees, wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths visit the flowers, with bumblebees and paper wasps especially common, and at least eleven gall-forming insects live on it. Its running rhizomes and prolific seed let it dominate ground and form single-species patches.
Linnaeus named the species in 1753. It is also grown as an ornamental garden plant, and it has become a weed in parts of Europe and Asia where it was introduced.