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Warning! This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Lower Decks, and thus may contain spoilers.
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The canary was a type of bird commonly kept as a pet. They were originally native to the Canary Islands on Earth.
According to Jonathan Archer, "miners used to take canaries into the tunnels with them. If the canary didn't die, the miners knew the air would be safe to breathe, and they could proceed." This analogy was made in reference to a Sphere-Builder who was discovered in 2153 in a transport pod as part of an experiment designed to monitor his exposure to normal space. (ENT: "Harbinger")
In 2365, Thadiun Okona joked, "Life is like loading twice your cargo weight onto your spacecraft. If it's canaries and you keep half of them flying all the time, you're alright." (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")
In 2382, Jet Manhaver warned Brad Boimler that Commander Jack Ransom uses junior officers as "canaries in coal mines" for dangerous situations. Later in front of a ski slope, Boimler told Ransom and Andy Billups, "This canary is about to fly," puzzling them. Billups then noted, "It's hard to think of an animal that's good at skiing." (LD: "The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel")
Upon describing how Jahn was to steal a bunch of communicators from a USS Enterprise landing party, the final draft script of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Miri" characterized him as having a "a cat-eating-the-canary look on his face" once he managed to seize the devices.
"Yranac", the name of a character in TNG: "Gambit, Part I", is "canary" spelt backwards.