Documents from the Verkhoturye administrative office indicate that the founder of Shadrinsk, Yuri Nikiforovich Malechkin, also established the Kanash settlement. The village got its name from the Kanash River, which means "council" in Chuvash, and is located along its banks. The first residents of Kanash, presumably in 1682, were runaway peasants from the Veliky Ustyug district of the Vologda province. By 1710, the settlement had 98 households, home to 150 families. In 1806, the locals bought their freedom from the landowners for 15,200 rubles.

In the early 18th century, a wooden church was built in the village in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, which included the village of Maltseva in its parish. By the early 20th century, the parish had 1,481 men and 1,570 women, as well as 399 men and 438 Old Believer women.

In 1801, construction began on a new two-story stone church to replace the old one. Thanks to the efforts of the parishioners, the construction progressed quickly, and by 1805, the altar on the lower floor was consecrated in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, while in 1814, the upper floor was consecrated in honor of St. John and St. Procopius of Veliky Ustyug. The church was noted for its beauty, especially the iconostasis on the upper floor, which had seven tiers.

Seven decades later, in 1876, an additional chapel was built on the southern side of the church. The upper altar was dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky, and the lower one to St. Serapion; their consecration took place in 1878. In 1882, another two-story chapel was constructed on the northern side, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The consecration of these churches occurred in 1885.

The church grounds also included three houses for the clergy and stone outbuildings, one of which housed the church pantry, while another served as the first section of the zemstvo school. Unfortunately, the church building in Kanash has not survived. Until 2013, local parishioners gathered for services in a prayer room.

Four years ago, it was decided to build a new church on the site of the former carpet factory warehouse. One span of the building was dismantled, the walls were restored, and a new roof was installed. The building, measuring 18 by 12 meters, is two-domed and accommodates about 150 worshippers. A unique feature of the church in Kanash is its large altar, which is distinctive among Shadrinsk churches.

The new church opened for parishioners in April 2015, and on June 25, 2016, the Day of the Discovery of the Relics and the Second Canonization of the Blessed Grand Duchess Anna Kashinskaya, it was consecrated in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica.