Hydrothermal pretreatments for loosening the hull of Westar canola (Brassica napus L.) to promote dehulling of the seeds were investigated. The samples tested had on average 14.5% hull on a mass basis. Conditioning treatments involved soaking the seeds in distilled water or exposing the seeds to saturated steam. The moistened seed was treated with one of the following drying methods: unheated‐air drying, infrared drying, and fluidized‐bed drying. The dried grain was milled in an abrasive dehuller to break the hulls loose. The hulls were removed from the mix by aspiration. The treated seeds yielded a minimum of 11.4% to a maximum of 14.9% of the seed mass as the hull fraction. Nontreated seeds yielded 9.4% of the seed mass in hull fraction after abrasive dehulling and aspiration. Among treatments, raising the moisture content of the whole seed from 6 to 15% by exposure to steam, followed by drying in a fluidized bed, resulted in the maximum percent dehulling efficiency. The hull fraction contained about 24% crude fiber, 18% oil, and 18% protein on a dry‐mass basis.