Both craft are the product of long prehistoric development and they are ideally suited to the regions in which they were perfected - the Arctic for the kayak and the north woods and south for the canoe.
Yes, indeed! Both are fine watercraft.
Go with your personal preference.
Yup. Like I said, have fun on the water.

I've always liked boats of all sorts, and I also have a weakness for a good quote:
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows