A canonical link identifies a preferred version of similar content. When its destination redirects, the configuration introduces an unnecessary intermediate address. First establish whether the final destination really contains equivalent content. Compare the main content of both pages.
A fictional product move
The document at /products/old-lamp/ contains:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.invalid/products/lamp/">
That address returns 301 to /range/lamp/. If the range URL should become the permanent preferred version, align the signals with that destination. Redirecting to an unrelated category is not an equivalent replacement.
Inspect the chain with the redirect checker, then inspect the final document’s own canonical link. A loop such as A → B → A requires more than editing the first address in a template.
Fix the source of repeated errors
If many product pages emit the same incorrect hostname or path, inspect the theme, SEO extension or server URL configuration that produces it. Avoid changing several generators simultaneously without identifying which one delivers the HTML head.
After the change, test an affected URL, an unchanged comparison page and a URL with parameters. The final document should be reachable, and the canonical, relevant internal links and sitemap should not identify conflicting preferred addresses. Search Console can later show Google’s selected canonical. Your canonical link is a signal rather than a binding instruction.