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ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES
ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES	1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES         Canadian Solar Inc. ("CSI") was incorporated pursuant to the laws of the Province of Ontario in October 2001, and changed its jurisdiction by continuing under the Canadian federal corporate statute, the Canada Business Corporations Act, or CBCA, effective June 1, 2006.         CSI and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") are principally engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of solar power products, and the total solution business in global markets. As of December 31, 2012, major subsidiaries of CSI are included in Appendix 1.

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- Definition

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings).

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-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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