One of the worst anti-EU arguments is "It was never canon." It is by far the weakest accusation that can be leveled against the unified, single continuity of 1976-2014.

What is canon? It means "part of the official continuity." I'll prove that & demonstrate that the EU was so.

First, continuity and canon are the same thing. Sue Rostini, Lucasfilm licensing managing editor (2003): "It's pretty much the same--sounds better to say that we try to maintain the continuity of the universe, rather than saying the canon of the universe."

"Since it’s a licensed publication, all the material becomes an official part of the continuity" -- Peter Schweighofer, editor for Bantam Spectra, from Tales of the Empire foreword (1993)

"Gospel or Canon, as we refer to it, includes the screenplays, the films, the radio dramas and the novelizations" -- Sue Rostoni, Lucas Books and Lucas Licensing Managing Editor, and Allan Kausch, Continuity Editor for Lucasfilm, Star Wars Insider 23 (Fall 1994)

"Continuity has been the supreme commandment at Lucasfilm for...all Star Wars projects. The company had made the decision to not only expand its universe but have it unfold as a seamless chronicle. To keep it all straight there is 'The Canon'"--MarkCottaVaz, Secrets of SotE ('96)

"Everyone...has a copy of 'The Bible,' a burgeoning canonical document [that] is a chronology of all the events that have ever occurred in...all the films, books, CD-roms, Nintendo games, comic books, & role-playing guides"--Tom Dupree, Bantam Spectra SW editor, New Yorker (1997)

"Everything that (is approved) by Lucasfilm is official. No matter how small the contribution, we've added to the well" -- Peter Schweighofer, author for the EU, Star Wars Galaxy Collector magazine #1 by Topps (1998)

From the Vision of the Future paperback edition, 1999 (and other Bantam-era paperbacks) --

"Canon refers to an authoritative list of books that Lucas Licensing editors consider an authentic part of the official Star Wars history" -- Sue Rostini, Lucas licensing editor, quoted in Star Wars Gamer #6 (2001)

"Basically, everything except those items marked with an 'Infinity' logo (i.e. the Star Wars Tales comics) is considered canon" -- Sue Rostoni, Lucas Books and Lucas Licensing managing editor (2003)

"There is one overall continuity" -- Leland Chee, continuity database administrator (2004)

"The Star Wars EU is unique both in its size and its care which is in the narrative which is shepherded and organized--and the Star Wars the Expanded Universe is official" -- Daniel Wallace, author for the Expanded Universe, Star Wars Insider 101 (May 2008)

"In the end, my ongoing vision is that as long as there’s the Holocron, Star Wars will not reboot" -- Leland Chee, continuity database administrator for Lucas Licensing (2012)