A canonical tag tells search engines which URL is the main version when several URLs contain the same or very similar content. It is used to consolidate signals around one preferred address and reduce uncertainty about duplicate pages. A canonical tag is a recommendation to search engines, not a forced redirect.
What does a canonical tag involve in practice?
In practice, each important page should have a canonical pointing to its preferred URL unless another version has been chosen deliberately. Protocol, domain, trailing slash and language version must be consistent. The canonical should also agree with internal links, the sitemap and any redirects.
A canonical tag is relevant when a website has filters, parameters, multiple languages, old URLs or content that can be reached from several places. See Google's guidance on canonical URLs, Technical SEO and Sitemap.
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