  In this letter we explore the perspectives for canonical simulations in the
worldline formulation of a lattice field theory. Using the charged $\phi^4$
field in two dimensions as an example we present the details of the canonical
formulation based on worldlines and outline algorithmic strategies for
canonical worldline simulations. We discuss the steps for converting the data
from the canonical approach to the grand canonical picture which we use for
cross-checking our results. The canonical approach presented here can easily be
generalized to other lattice field theories with a worldline representation.
