The aim of the work was to utilize salt-extracted canola protein isolate (CPI) from the cold-pressed meal in the development of concentrated oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions and investigate the effect of various environmental factors on the stability and structure-functionality. CPI (1-4w% at pH 7) was used to stabilize 50wt% O/W emulsions using a high-pressure homogenizer. The emulsions were characterized by the droplet size, zeta potential, rheological properties, accelerated creaming velocity and confocal microscopy. As CPI concentration increased from 1 to 4wt%, droplet size decreased from 16.4μm to 3.8μm while the droplet charge remained constant (-12 mV). All emulsions flocculated over 30 days but exhibited exceptional resistance to coalescence. Storage moduli of all emulsions were higher than the loss moduli at all CPI concentrations, suggesting a gel-like structure. Emulsion stability was also investigated by adding vinegar (10wt%) and salt (1wt%). No significant change in droplet size was observed with the addition of either vinegar (pH3.7, droplet charge 20 mV) or salt (pH7, droplet charge -6 mV). However, in the presence of both (pH3.7, droplet charge 7 mV), the droplets were extensively aggregated leading to a gel-like non-flowing structure. Heating the emulsions at 80 °C led to a ten-times increase in gel strength irrespective of CPI concentration, which could be attributed to protein thermal denaturation leading to droplet aggregation. These findings may extend the application of CPI in viscoelastic foods such as salad dressing
