Canola emergence and stand establishment are adversely affected by low soil temperature conditions which frequently occur in the Canadian prairies at seeding time. A technique, based on rapid germination of seeds on moist filter paper at 10 °C, was developed and used to screen canola genotypes suitable for low temperature propagation. Broad sense heritability estimates for rapid germination and growth at low temperatures were about 60% for Brassica napus L., and about 90% for B. campestris L., indicating complex inheritance (possibly polygenic) of these characters. Selection within canola cultivars for rapid germination was successful. However, canola genotypes presently available displayed limited variability for germination and seedling vigor at low temperatures. Thus, without bringing in new germplasm, rapid progress within the populations surveyed could not be expected.Key words: Brassica napus L., Brassica campestris L., low temperature germination selection, heritability