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This checks syntax and structure, not what Google actually chose. A canonical tag is a strong hint, not a directive, Google can and does select a different canonical URL than the one you specify if other signals (duplicate content, internal links, sitemaps) point elsewhere. Use Search Console's URL Inspection tool to see which canonical Google actually picked for a live page.

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What does this tool check for?

Missing canonical: no <link rel="canonical"> tag found at all.
Multiple canonicals: more than one canonical tag present, browsers and crawlers may pick either one, which is undefined behavior you don't want to rely on.
Wrong placement: a canonical tag found in <body> instead of <head>, Google ignores canonical tags outside the head.
Relative URL: the canonical uses a relative path instead of a full absolute URL, which Google recommends against to avoid ambiguity.
Self-reference check: compares the canonical URL against the page URL you entered, flags it as informational (not necessarily wrong) if they differ, since cross-page canonicals are sometimes intentional (e.g. paginated or parameterized URLs pointing to a main version).

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