Steadman

note the OP said "Best cannister stove".

I was a died in the wool XGK user for many years and I think its still an awesome heat source for full on snow melting. White gas was cheap and easy to get (it also burned kerocene)and those things crank. I have or had a pretty up to date collection of stoves at one time, and borrowed many others to test them. I choose the Coleman Xtreme and the two burner expedition model because they were far superior to anything else on the market for an all weather, finely adjustable stove that could put out over 10,000 Btu.

I do not care about the cost of the fuel for the Coleman Xstove, and I have a lot of them.

The Xtreme stove's liquid/gas feed means that when you turn off the valve, the stove goes completely out without sputtering toxic fumes for half a minute like a white gas stove does. The Xtreme stove (and its 2 other forms) can simmer or crank or put out any amount of heat in between. It lights instantly at -5 F (the coldest that I've used it) with no preheating like a white gas stove.

I have tried to light white gas stoves in strong cold winter winds and its just about impossible. In moderate cold wind I've had to warm the priming gas in the fuel cup with a bic lighter to get it to burn well enough to prime the stove. In order to avoid the problem of lighting a white gas stove in the tent, I have dug a small snow cave to put the stove in, and then reached in and lit it.

just as an aside it should be noted that without a tall windscreen, in cold wind, it takes a very long time for any stove to heat water.
Jim