diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index af6f4a31a..f7454a514 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ stages:
   - older version tests
   - deploy
 
+env: # a top level `env` is required to allow failures (for canary)
+
 jobs:
   include:
     # runs tests with current locked deps and linting