Are canals still used today

Yes, canals are still used. There are several major ship canals around the world, such as the Suez Canal (Red Sea to Mediterranean Sea) and Panama Canal (Pacific to Atlantic Oceans).

There are also a goodly number of smaller canals and "navigations" (rivers modified to be navigable) around, particularly in Holland, France and Britain; but these are generally used now by pleasure-craft although they were built as commercial waterways.

Britain has a large, complex network of 18C canals that largely fell into disuse during the 19C when the new railways took away most of their trade, but which have been restored in the last few decades for pleasure use. The Rivers Severn, Avon and Thames are all linked by such canals; and the City of Birmingham has an impressive mileage of canals around it, originally serving the wealth of local industries.