The Canadian Receipt Book was printed for the "Compiler" at the Ottawa Citizen, a prominent newspaper in Canada’s capital city. Originally known as The Packet in Old Bytown, the Citizen has been around since 1845. At that time, Ottawa (or Bytown) was a lumber town of about 4,500 people, located on the south side of the Ottawa River in Canada West. The paper was renamed the Ottawa Citizen in 1851, adopting the name of the beautiful river that was used to move logs from the mountains north of the city down to the paper mill situated in Canada East. Bytown was renamed Ottawa four years later and in 1857 was selected by Queen Victoria to be the capital of the Province of Canada. This status was later extended to the whole Dominion of Canada in 1867.

In the preface to the book, the unnamed author(s) proudly remark that the very best authorities on the various subjects were consulted while compiling the simple and useful recipes. There is no evidence of how the book was sold or if it was complimentary to anyone who desired a copy. The book contains over 100 advertisements for local businesses that range from dry goods stores to photography services to several insurance companies. Likely, the companies like Robinson & Co.,The Tea Pot, Ottawa, paid to have their services advertised and these monies were directed towards the costs of compiling and printing the book.